Pokemon Mystery Dungeon, Explorers of Corruption
by Raptor Pilot
Summary: I was called here to save the Pokemon world, but I am not able to. It's not that I don't want to, but I CAN'T. How can I save the world, when I'm losing myself to the very darkness and corruption that I was called here to destroy. I don't think I can save the myself, let alone the world. Rated for language, use of alcohol, and drugs.
1. Losing Myself

My name is Jackson. Jack for short of course. I was once a human. Now I'm a Fennekin. I was told I must save the world of Pokemon, but how am I to do that, when I may not be able to save myself.

When I first came here, I meet a Snivy, her name is Elise.

She is a part of a group of volunteers who explore places called Mystery Dungeons to survey land, help those in trouble, or capture criminals. She lives by herself in a run down hut, but she's happy.

She was ecstatic when I agreed to help her, but I was too nervous to tell her my past life. I feel it is best to lay low right now.

She's very happy to have me with her, but due to space restrictions, I have to live away from her, but this is no problem. I have found a place a mere 5 minute walk away. It's a hut like hers, but not as beaten up. It was abandoned, and now I live there.

Something else she doesn't know about me, is how I am succumbing to the very same darkness we are trying to get rid of.

It started not long after we started exploring. We had just come back from a rescue, when we had to split up to get to our respective homes. On the way there, I met a shady Pokemon. They were cloaked in shadows, I never got a good look at them, but they offered me a drink. I was quite parched at the time, so I accepted. I was high on adrenaline, I wasn't thinking straight.

He handed me a bottle, and as I was putting it in my bag, he vanished.

I got home, poured the liquid into a bowl, and began to drink.

My head got real fuzzy, but it felt good. When I woke up, my memory was a bit broken, but I felt like I had fun for some reason.

After the daily mission, a simple survey of an area, I felt lightheaded. I wanted to try that drink again.

The stranger approached me on my way home, and offered the drink, but this time for 100 coins. Which I supposed wasn't bad, we earned 500 per mission usually.

I paid him, thanked him, and went home to drink.

Eventually, I began itchy at the end of each day. My body craved that drink like it was a drug. After 1 month, things began to go horribly, horribly wrong.


	2. From Bad to Worse

At first, it was easy to avoid going too far with this drink I was addicted to, because I had to keep Elise in the dark, and it wouldn't be possible if I just let myself go crazy.

Things change.

Elise began to get more and more sluggish as the days went on. I questioned her about it one day.

(Flashback, POV change… 3rd…)

'Elise? *Snore* Elise. *No response* ELISE! *Nothing*'

Eventually Jack shook her violently.

'Hm? Wha?'

'Elise what's going on? It's getting harder and harder to wake you.'

'*Yawns* It's just instinct. You see, Winter is on its way, and my body is screaming at me to hibernate. It's getting more and more difficult to ignore it. *Yawns*'

Jack realized that it made sense. Snakes will go into a state of hibernation when the temperature drops enough, and plants, including grass, will go dormant. As a grass snake, it was only logical that she would heed the call of hibernation sooner or later.

'I see. Why aren't you just going into hibernation?'

'*Yawns* I want to help more people. I *Yawns* can't do that if… I'm… sleeping.'

Elise's eyes droop shut, she falls on her belly.

'Sorry. I'm just… I'm so tired. Can't… think… straight.'

'Elise you're not gonna be helping anyone in this state. Just go to sleep. I'll see you in the Spring.'

'Thanks… Jack.'

Elise curls in on herself, and her muscles clench in an effort to preserve warmth throughout the long sleep.

Jack moves her to her bed, and closes the door on her home.

(End flashback, POV change… Jack's…)

Elise went into hibernation, and I no longer had to hide from her. I was drinking 4-5 bottles of that stuff a day. Our savings were quickly drying up. I needed money if I was to continue.

I then did something I'll never forgive myself for.

I stole from Elise.

My partner, my ally, my friend, and I stole from her.

The hut had a few valuable items in it. One of which was a Gold Ribbon.

I took it, sold it, and used the money for more of the drink.

I busted the door so it would look like someone broke in. I didn't want her to think I did it.

It's been nearly 3 months since Elise started hibernation, and I was about out of money. Either she'll have to wake up soon, or I'll have to do something drastic.

I'm not sure who called me here, but I think they made the wrong choice.

I want to help, I really do, if I save this world, it would be like a cure for cancer. New hope, new life, new chances. I would love to see that happen, but because I made the wrong choice at the wrong time… I can't.

 **From here on out the story will occur in present tense.**


	3. Inhale, and Exhale

It had been almost 3 months since Elise began her hibernation, and Jack was losing his mind. The savings account from their rewards was completely empty, and he was getting desperate.

Jack went to see the person who was selling him the drinks, and asked for something to save his money.

'Hm… I suppose I could give you a little discount, if you're willing to try something for me.'

'What would this "something" be?'

The figure, still covered by shadows, held out a small white cylinder.

'Light the tip of this on fire, put it in your mouth, and just do what comes natural.'

'Um… ok… is this safe?'

'Not sure. That's why I'm having you do it. You do this… I lower the price.'

'… Ok.'

Jack took the object, lit the tip with the hot air that comes out of his ears, and put it in his mouth.

He takes a breath through his mouth, and exhales out his mouth.

A large cloud of smoke leaves his mouth.

He kneels down in pain.

'Well?'

'It hurts… my chest… feels hot. Too hot.'

'Dont worry. It's just the smoke. You're a fire type. You'll be fine.'

Jack relaxes and starts breathing normally again.

soon enough, the pain subsides, and Jack finds himself enjoying whatever he is doing.

Soon enough, the cylinder burns out, and he spits it out and stomps on it to rid any remaining embers so he doesn't start a fire.

'That wasn't bad. Pretty good actually.'

'As we agreed, I am lowering the price. 250 per.'

'Thank you.'

 **No I don't know if that's what smoking feels like, but I don't intend to find out. Don't worry, once I start to develop more of a plot the chapters will get longer. For now though, you'll have to settle.**


	4. Behind Every Problem…

It had been exactly 95 days since Elise began her hibernation, when she finally woke up. She looked around her home, and she was really depressed by what she saw, or more sccurately, what she didn't see.

Eventually Jack entered the building.

'Oh you're awake. Good. *Notices her downcast look* What's wrong?'

'I was robbed. My… Gold Ribbon is gone.'

'Oh. Well, at least it wasn't something particularly useful. Besides a quick buck, Gold Ribbons are useless.'

'Jack… you don't understand. I hatched from my egg on that ribbon. It's where I had my first food.'

Needless to say, Jack began to feel real guilty, real quick.

'I'm sorry.'

'It isn't your fault. Don't be.'

That really stung. Elise trusted him, and he stabbed her in the back.

He felt like scum.

He wanted to confess, but his mind forced him not to.

If Elise found out, she'd probably kick him out, and if that happened, he'd have no source of income to buy his "items." His self described "habit" forced him out of being honest with his only ally.

It tore him up.

However, as devastated as Elise was, she didn't let it affect her, and they performed 3 successful missions that day, earning a good haul, and getting Elise's mind off the loss.

Not everyone was as focused though.

Jack was not at all with it mentally. His mind wandering constantly.

He wasn't thinking about anything in particular, he just was unable to focus.

Soon enough, his distraction would reveal itself.

(Time Change… That Night…)

'You worthless bastard! You're nothing! NOTHING! You will never make anything out of your life! '

'No! I will! I won't listen to you! I'm gonna do great things one day! I swear it!'

CRASH!

'You're worthless. Pathetic. You'll never be anything. Who would want to be friends with someone like you?'

'No. It's not true. I will make friends, I will find love, and I'll be the father I never had!'

CRASH!

'Delusional, lazy, weak, arrogant, stupid, ugly, and many other things. You will never accomplish anything. Mark my words.'

(Scene Change… Jack's Home…)

'GAH!'

Jack woke up panting heavily, his fur drenched in sweat.

'Even in this world, I can't escape him. When will this nightmare end? I need to smoke.'

Jack took out one of the "cigarettes" from his storage chest, and went outside.

He lit it and proceeded to smoke.

'Just calm down Jack, everything will be fine. He can't hurt you anymore. We aren't even in the same plane of existence anymore.'

Eventually the "cigarette" burnt out. Jack buried the remains under the dirt to dispose of any stray embers and any evidence of his "habit."

 **In the next chapter, we go into a dungeon finally, and Elise starts to get suspicious. Does she know something?**


	5. Fight at The Edge

'Mornin Jack!'

'Hey Elise.'

'Whats wrong?'

'Just… a rough night. Bad dreams.'

'Wanna talk about it?'

'No, I think I should keep this to myself.'

'Well I'm here if you need me, anyways, check out this job!'

Elise handed Jack the letter.

'Brave Volunteers, I write to you with great urgency. A thief stole my entire savings! Over 500,000! I want this guy taken down. Reward is negotiable.

Keckleon.

This guy doesn't look too tough.'

It was a Chespin.

'I'm wondering how he managed to steal so much money anyways, and get away no less.'

'Well it says he was seen fleeing to a place called Edge Cave. What's Edge Cave?'

'Edge Cave is a small cave, but at the end of the dungeon is a massive cliff that is so deep you can't see the bottom. The original founders believed it to be the edge of the world, so they named it Edge Cave.'

'Neat.'

(Scene Change… Edge Cave B1F…)

'Elise I'm on point for this one. Stay behind me and watch those flanks in open rooms.'

'I hear ya, and I've got ya covered.'

They pressed into the cave, every now and then they'd encounter a Pokemon, but Jack's long range Flamethrower kept them from getting too close.

Jack had 4 moves, each for a different situation.

He had Flamethrower for long range attacks, Ember for medium range, Flame Charge for close quarters, and Heat Wave if he needed to fight multiple enemies. He was a jack of all trades, no pun intended.

Elise was their brawler.

She had Vine Whip as her standard go to move as she had been using that move for ages. She had learned Leaf Blade from a TM and used that when Vine Whip didn't deal enough damage. She also had Leaf Torndao in case she ever needed to make herself harder to hit by lowering the opponents accuracy. Finally she had Giga Drain to restore her health.

Along the way they picked up some Sticks and Elise was about to put them in the bag, when Jack snatched them away.

'What was that f… what are you doing?'

Jack was eating the Sticks one at a time.

'Eating.'

He had this smile that made him seem like he didn't know he just made someone upset.

'Why are you eating those?'

'This is something I never understood about my species. Eating twigs fills us with energy. Why? Eh, I don't really care. I just chalk it up to, because reasons.'

'Dumb fox.'

'Wierd snake.'

'I say Pēcha-'

'And so does everyone else. No one pronounces it Pècha.'

'Fair enough.'

B2F

They started in the room with the stairs, but they were less than pleased about what else the room had.

'AMBUSH! AMBUUUUUUSH!'

Jack fired off a quick Heat Wave, which knocked a solid 1/3 of the attackers out.

Elise cracked her vines off at the nearest opponent, a Krabby, and knocked it out too.

An Oymatee fired a Bubblebeam at Jack and scored a critical. Jack was hurting bad. He hated water.

'FUCK YOU! BURN IN HELL!'

Jack's Blaze kicks in and his Heat Wave decimates most of the remaining enemies. Only a few stragglers remain, and a couple were Poocheyeana(check spelling) that got scared and ran away.

'Get to the stairs!'

Jack and Elise got to the stairs and took a quick rest.

B3F

Elise starts coughing.

'You ok?'

'Ugh. Something stinks.'

Elise flicked her forked tongue out every few seconds.

SCIENCE TIME!

Snakes don't have noses like mammals do, but they do have an acute sense of smell.

How it works, is that smells are composed of microscopic particles. When a snake flicks their tongue out, those particles land on it. They then press their tongue against a sensor on the roof of their mouths. There will be slightly more particles on the left side of their tongue if the smell is coming from their left. This is how reptiles find their prey, a type of sonar.

Jack quickly smelled his fur while Elise was looking around.

"Phew, I do stink. Must be the smoke."

Jack quickly coats his fur with fire, burning the smell off.

'Its gone… must have been imagining things.'

They press on and eventually reach the end of the dungeon.

'Elise get ready. I see him.'

'Hey! You!'

The Chespin turns around.

'WHAT!? ALREADY!?'

'If you thought you could get away with this, then you're delusional.'

'Grrrr. Looks like I'm in trouble here. Well I'm not going down WITHOUT A FIGHT!'

The Chespin opens with a quick Mud Shot.

Taken by surprise, Jack had no time to dodge the move.

'ACK! I CANT SEE!'

Jack was hit right in the eyes. He couldn't see anything. He started using his paws to try and clean his eyes out.

'Take this!'

Elise charges in and dishes out a Leaf Blade. The high power move does a good amount of damage, but it wasn't a very effective move, so it was negligible.

'DIE!'

The Chespin grabs Elise and punches her in the gut. His paw glowing purple.

Poison Jab.

Elise coughed and a purple ooze like substance came out. She was Poisoned.

'This should finish you!'

Needles shot off of the Chespin and made their way towards Elise. Pin Needle.

'Oh no you don't!'

Fire suddenly engulfed the needles and moved towards the Chespin.

Jack has regained his sight and just saved Elise a lot of trouble.

The Chespin moved out of the way of the inferno.

'Grrrr.'

*Rumble*

'What is that?'

*Rumble*

'Jack, he's up to something.'

*CRASH*

'GAH!'

Stones shot out of the ground. Jack was lifted into the air and hit repeatedly.

'JACK!'

'HRN! GUH!'

When the barrage ended, Jack crashed to the stone below.

'Yep, that hurt.'

Jack stands up, but he's badly injured.

'I'm sick of this shit. Elise, now.'

'Got it!'

Elise whipped out her vines and grabbed Jack. She spun around multiple times and then launched Jack at the Chespin.

'TAKE THIS!'

Jack became cloaked in fire as he used Flame Charge.

Balze kicked in, and with extra momentum, the hit was devastating.

When the smoke cleared, Jack was standing with his paw on the Chespin's back. The Chespin was out cold.

'I don't mess around, and neither does Elise.'

'Phew. That was tough.'

'Yeah he had a few nasty surprises for us.'

Jack opened their bag and dug out a few berries.

They both downed an Oran Berry, Elise also ate a Pecha, and Jack used some water to clean his face.

They succeeded, barely.


	6. Awakened Powers and Lost Lunch

After they handed over the Chespin to the police, they filled their bag to the brim with coins, and returned them to Keckleon.

'Thank you so much! You don't know how much this means to me!'

'Haven't you ever heard of a bank?'

'My grandpa always said, "Don't trust banks, banks get robbed."'

'Was he a banker?'

'No he was a thief.'

'Oh. Well then.'

'But enough about that! Let's discuss your reward!'

'Well, Elise and I feel that maybe money wouldn't be the best reward here. Perhaps we could use your services, free of charge, for a bit. Within reason of course. Maybe 5 things a day for a bit?'

'… Depends on the things. I'm not going to hand over 5 TMs a day. How about you can have 1 TM for free every… week, and 5 other items every day. Is that acceptable?'

'I think we have a deal.'

'Excellent!'

Jack and Elise returned to their respective homes, Jack had a drink, smoked a cigarette, and went to bed.

His sleep was calm and peaceful tonight. A stark contrast from the nightmare filled night before.

However, when he woke up, he felt, nothing. Literally, he couldn't feel the floor.

'Hm? Wha? OOF!'

Apparently he had been sleeping a foot above the ground.

'Am I…?'

He focused on some straw on his bed, willing it to move, to levitate.

'Come on come on.'

He poured all his energy into his thoughts, it was easier to do than he imagined, and soon, he noticed the straw begin to shift.

'Just a little more…'

He applied a bit more energy to his thoughts, and the straws he focused on separated from the bed and began to float.

'Yes!'

Jack lost track of time as he began to practice his new Psychic powers. He levitated loose rocks, a book, and eventually himself.

'The possibilities are endless.'

Next he began to try and move multiple objects at the same time.

He split his focus between one of the rocks, and the book.

He found that it was quite easy to do, now that he had tuned into his ability.

Sometime later… he was interrupted.

'What the hell?'

'WHA!? OUCH!'

Elise had walked in, wondering what kept Jack for so long, and when she walked in, he was 5 feet off the ground, in a sitting position, with multiple objects floating around him.

When he fell, he landed on hit face, hindquarters in the air, and a book landed right between his legs.

He let out quite a high pitched shriek.

It was all Elise could do not to burst out laughing.

'Are *Snicker* are you alright Jack?'

'Urk. You know how there are certain moments that you reminisce about for the rest of your life?'

'Yeah.'

'This is not one of them. Never speak of this again.'

'Oh I'm speaking of this. I'm going to speak of it a lot.'

'Damn it Elise, be reasonable.'

'Enough about your wounded pride. I see you've found your Psychic powers. Your evolutions are renowned for their Psychic abilities. When you evolve I imagine they'll be much stronger. I think the sticks that they carry around have some way of enhancing that Psychic energy.

'I can't wait to evolve then!'

'Anyways I already picked up some stuff from Kecleon. Here, have some breakfast.'

Elise tossed Jack a can.

Jack looked at it.

The top able to be opened by any creature, fingers or not.

'Why can't I just have a normal breakfast?'

'Because we're volunteers. Always on call, we have a job to do, and you're late. You can eat on the boat.'

'Boat?'

'This job is across the sea, and this time, we haven't been assigned, we've been requested.'

'How the hell are we that well known already?'

'Aparently they heard from our local Keckleon. The one we helped yesterday.'

'Wow, news travels fast.'

'It's gonna be a full day's trip, so we're gonna be provided a room to spend the night.'

'Got it.'

Jack packed a couple cigarettes, a few bottles of drinks, and some food. It fit on his back, but was slightly heavy.

When they got on the boat, Jack instantly started eating, a decision he came to regret, because the seas turned rough, and he spent the next 3 hours throwing up. Most of the time it was just the swallowed saliva in his stomach, but it still came up.

'Looks like the lad doesn't have his sea legs yet.'

Elise was talking to a Poliwhirl.

'Yeah. Not sure what's wrong with him.'

'I'm a Fire type. I hate the water and you know that.'

'Well it be a long trip, so best try and settle yer stomach. Here, have some bread. Tis something that's easy on the stomach. Also have this bicarbonate soda. This should keep yer food down.'

Jack looked at the food, then leaned back over the side to throw up again.

'Ugh, please don't show me food.'

'Lass, I feel so sorry for ye. Yer mate is a, how do you say, wuss.'

'He's not my mate, but he is a bit of a wuss.'

'*Wretches* Fuck you too.'


	7. WE'RE ON FIRE HERE!

After seemingly an eternity at sea, at least to Jack. Their destination finally loomed on the horizon.

'OI CAPTAIN! LAND HO!'

'Thar be our destination. Port Duhawk.'

'Finally, Jack will stop throwing up.'

Jack eventually started getting sore from leaning over the railing, so since it was mostly saliva he was expelling, the crew decided he didn't have to anymore.

However, Jack is a Fire Type, and Fire Types have a special fuel that allows them to breathe fire. It's commonly found in, if not their stomach, in a branching organ that holds the combustible liquid, and at one point, his body confused that organ for his stomach.

'I feel weirAAAAAAH!'

When Jack threw up again, he vomited a near liquid fire that stuck to the boat.

'NOT GOOD!'

The wooden vessel caught fire instantly.

'I'LL CALL DUHAWK, THE REST OF YOU TRY TO PUT OUT THAT FIRE!'

The Poliwhirl captain ran below decks and grabbed a radio. (In Super Mystery Dungeon the badges act as long range communicators, similar to radio.)

'Port Duhawk this is the vessel Leviathan, we are within view of port and have caught fire. Please send assistance.'

'Vessel Leviathan this is Port Duhawk, we hear you. I can see your ship from here. Firefighting boats should be with you in 10 minutes.'

The captain looks outside and sees the fire now raging on deck.

'Not good enough Duhawk, we'll be sunk in 5!'

'I'll do what I can, until then try to hold the blaze to a minimum. Good luck Leviathan.'

'Shit! Rico! Raise the flags India followed by X-Ray!'

A Sentret raises the flags on the ship's mast.

India is a solid yellow flag with a black circle in the middle. X-Ray is a white flag divided into 4 sections by a blue cross.

India by itself, means come alongside me.

X-Ray by itself means, stop carrying out your intentions and watch for my signal.

However, when India is flown directly above X-Ray, with X-Ray partially behind India, it means, fire is gaining.

Within 8 minutes, 2 firefighting boats pull alongside the massive cargo ship.

The fire is not under control, and much of the ship is in flames.

One of the firefighting boats raises flag India.

"Come alongside me."

The Leviathan raises 2 flags. November, a blue and white checkerboard pattern, and Juliet, a blue flag with a horizontal white bar, on a second line afterwards.

"Negative. I am on fire and have dangerous cargo. Keep clear."

The firefighting ship then raises November as well, while keeping India up.

"Negative. Come alongside me."

Leviathan withdraws Juliet and leaves November.

"Negative."

The firefighting ships, ignoring the warning, pull alongside Leviathan and climb onboard via a ladder that is on the Leviathan to allow people in the water to climb back onto the ship.

The 2 ships each have 2 Pokémon. There's a Feraligatr, a Seismitoad, a Swampert, and a Goodra.

They also bring up a hose from each boat, and when they aim at the fires at close range, nothing seems to come out of the nozzles.

Somehow, the fires start to go out.

The seemingly useless hoses instantly start killing the fires.

Soon enough, the fires all almost completely extinguished.

'I don't get it. What was that?'

Elise walked up to the Goodra and asked how they did it.

'It's something that we encounter everyday. The hoses on these boats are connected to a tank full of Carbon Dioxide. An invisible and odorless gas. Carbon Dioxide basically suffocates the flames by stoping them from burning Oxygen.'

'That's really smart!'

'How did this fire start anyways?'

'My friend Jack, he's a Fire Type and he got very seasick. He ended up throwing up the fuel for his flames, which set the boat on fire instantly.'

Where is he?'

'Um. I don't know. I haven't seen him since the fire started.'

'Well the fire won't have killed him. He must be around here somewhere.'

The Goodra and Elise eventually find Jack in the cargo hold after the fire burned a hole in the floor of the deck which caused Jack to fall in.

'Jack! There you are. I was worried about you.'

Jack didn't respond. He was unconscious.

The Goodra quickly inspects him.

'He has a good lump on his head, probably hit it when he fell, but he's also dehydrated. How long was he sick?'

'A good 4 hours of throwing up saliva.'

'I'll take him back to Port Duhawk for medical treatment.'

'Ok.'

'It's just precautionary, don't worry.'

'Yes sir.'

'Good. I've had to take people to the hospital before and they usually have someone who wants to visit the second they dock, so I always keep directions to the hospital from the docks on me.

The Goodra hands Elise a slip of paper with directions on it.

'Thank you sir. Your kindness is not to be soon forgotten.'

'Just doing my job.'


	8. Enraged

When everyone safely arrived at Port Duhawk, Elise immediately went to see Jack.

He had an IV in his right front leg and was unconscious, but otherwise seemed ok.

'He's not gonna wake up anytime soon.'

An Audino nurse walked in.

'He'll be ok though, right?'

'Correct. Now, I'm gonna cut to the chase. You guys are gonna have to go back by boat, and he's gonna have to avoid throwing up any of that fuel on the boat. Have him take 2 of these when he gets on the boat, and every hour on the hour after. They should stop his seasickness.'

The Audino hands Elise a small container of orange pills.

'Don't we need a prescription for this?'

'Nope. It's not a controlled substance so it can be distributed, "over the counter."'

'Thank you.'

'My pleasure.'

It took Jack 12 hours to wake up after his bodily fluids had been restored. He still felt queasy, but they had a job to do, and he didn't have the luxury to have a sick day. They only had 1 day to do the mission before the boat left.

'Ok Elise, what's the job again?'

Elise unfolds a paper.

'"Elise and Jack,

I request your assistance in searching for my missing sister. She went exploring Dead-End Canyon and hasn't returned for 3 days. She can hold her own, but I'm afraid she may be lost.

Please help,

Minun."

It says that she may be on any floor, so we'll have to be thorough.'

'Got it.'

As they battled their way past many Water and Grass types, Jack began to have a strange feel of power around him, that feeling, eventually turned into a glow.

'Oh yeah, now we're talking!'

Jack was enveloped in a blinding light and eventually when it stopped, he was a Braixen.

'Nice work Jack! Your Psychic abilities should be much more powerful now!'

They soon found out just how much more powerful they were.

They encountered a Mantine, and Jack's instincts kicked in.

He took the stick out of his tail with his left hand, and pointed it at his open right.

He began to focus on pure Psychic energy forming in his hand, and sure enough, a pinkish energy began to appear.

When he was satisfied with the strength of it, he thrust his right hand towards the Mantine.

The energy rocketed towards it and knocked it out with a single blow.

'Sweet!'

'You're amazing Jack! A regular One-Mon-Army!'

'Thanks.'

'Now we don't have to search every floor.'

'Eh why?'

'Cant you do some Psychic shit that tells you where she is?'

'Uh, no.'

'Damn. Well, our job hasn't changed.'

As they continued, Jack continued to show off his Psychic abilities, but soon found himself exhausted from the strain on his mind. He had harnessed the energy before when he was a Fennekin, but now he was actually conjuring it into a physical force, and it was draining.

'*Puff* Elise, can you take over from here. *Huff* I need a break.'

'No problem Jack. I'm all over it.'

They continued on until Elise finally sensed their target nearby with her tongue.

'*Flit flit* This way. *Flit flit* It's a Pluse. *Flit flit* Bout 15 years old.'

When they found the Pluse, they were ready to use their badges and get out.

'There you are.'

'Oh, who are you?'

'We're a volunteer group sent by your brother. He's worried about you. I'm Jack and this is Elise.'

'Oh my brother is such a drama queen. I'm fine. I'm just really interested in this area. I wanna explore every nook and cranny.'

Jack wasn't very happy with that answer.

'Listen to me! I've thrown up at least 50 times in the last 24 hours on a fucking boat just getting to Duhawk! I was unconscious for 12 hours due to dehydration! I'm tired, I'm hungry, I'm still nauseous! Now you're gonna come with us or I'm gonna start beating the shit out of you in the next 5 seconds, and you'll swallow a lot of blood during it!'

'Ep… on second thought, I've seen enough.'

They quickly warped out.


	9. The Dark Realms

As Jack and Elise rushed back to Port Duhawk to catch the ship back, Jack took the pills and decided to go straight to bed because he was still tired.

As his eyes close, the room seems to go dark. As in eerie horror scenario kind of dark.

As soon as he was asleep, he woke up. Only he wasn't on the ship anymore.

He was in some kind of black field. The grass was black, the sky was grey, the trees were black, and the leaves were purple.

'Where am I?'

'Welcome to the Dark Realms.'

A distorted voice resonates from seemingly everywhere.

'What are the Dark Realms?'

'They are a place for those with corrupted souls to test if they can be saved. I won't tell you what the test is, but if you fail, you will spend the rest of your days here.'

'Wait. I get it now. I'm just dreaming.'

'Yes and no. You are asleep, but you aren't dreaming. Your earthly form remains, but your consciousness is here. That doesn't mean you can't die or feel pain though. If you die here or fail the test, your body will enter a coma that you will never recover from. Good luck.'

The voice ceases, and despite the fact he could never see it, the absence of it made him feel alone, and vulnerable.

He decided to look for water, and entered the forest.

As he walked, he began to notice how still this world was.

There was no wind, the grass never swayed, and not even the leaves shook.

This complete lack of movement also made it horribly quiet. Instead of sounds of nature, Jack could only hear his own footsteps.

As he pressed on, he eventually smelled some water, but it was… different.

He followed his nose, and eventually saw it.

However, it seemed polluted. It was pitch black.

'The Dark Realms were not originally like this. However, when the Pokemon of the world began to shift to darkness, the darkness of their souls tainted this land. Making it dark and desolate. The water is tainted with darkness, as are all life forms that drank it.'

The voice returned, then quickly left again.

Jack felt his heart flutter.

'Poor things. The only choice they were given was to die of thirst, of succumb to evil. The choice that I now seem to have.'

Jack left the tainted water and decided to keep looking around.

It was around about 20 minutes later that he noticed this realm's distinct lack of life. He hadn't seen a single Pokemon yet.

However, when he heard a loud cry, he moved to help.

It turns out he would end up wishing he hadn't.

What he saw almost made him vomit, if it was even possible without a physical body.

There was a Houndoom covered in blood, however, it was the blood of the Pikachu that he was eating.

Jack wanted to help, but he wouldn't stand a chance against this Houndoom. He had FIre attacks that would do little if anything, and Psychic attacks that would do nothing at all.

Instead he couched down and slipped away unnoticed.

After what was likely 10 minutes, Jack found something that was different from everything else.

There was a black ball floating in the air, and it seemed to be exuding a red mist from it.

'This, is an Essence of Darkness. All the dark intentions of Pokemon feed these orbs which in turn corrupt this realm.'

'Is there any way to stop it?'

'Yes, if only temporarily. You see, when Pokemon like you need to be tried to see if they should be saved, they must take on the darkness of the world. If they succumb, they may not return. If they resist, they may go back and return for another test the next day. The tests continue until either all of the Dark Realms is cleansed, or the Pokemon fails.'

'Has anyone ever succeeded?'

'Thousands have tried, and only 12 have ever made it, and now you are the next one to try.'

'So how do I do this?'

'Take the Esscence of Darkness, and hold it close to your heart. If you can resist, then your heart will cleanse the orb of all darkness.'

'Ok… *Takes a deep breath* Here goes.'

Jack picked up the Esscence of Darkness.


	10. The Power of Darkness

The instant the Esscence of Darkness touched Jack's chest, he was engulfed in a black void.

He could hear whispers, but he couldn't make them out.

He could see images, but they were too blurry.

He could smell, something, but it was faint, and unknown.

He tasted something awful, but he was unable to spit it out. His mouth wasn't working.

He felt pain, and it was clear as could be.

"Uruk. W-why? D-darkness. I-it's… too… strong."

Eventually his sight cleared up and he saw a Zoroark murdering a bound Sceptile by slowing causing him to bleed out.

'PLEASE! STOP! WHY ARE YOU DOING THIS!?'

He could hear the tortured screams of the Sceptile. They hurt his sensitive ears.

'What do you mean?'

'WHAT IS MAKING YOU WANT TO DO THIS!? WHAT IS MOTIVATING YOU TO HURT ME!?'

'Why does something have to motivate me? Maybe I just felt like it. Perhaps I like it. Maybe it makes me happy.'

'YOU'RE SICK!'

'I don't care what you think. You'll be dead soon enough.'

The Sceptile screams in pure agony as the Zoroark resumes his torture.

"So this is what I have to fight against? Pokemon like this? Who take pleasure from these kind of sick practices?"

His vision shifted and a new scene appeared.

In this one, a Blaziken was demolishing a building made of natural elements like vines and logs.

Off to the side was a pair of Leafeons and a small pair of Eevees.

One of the little Eevees spoke.

'A-are we gonna be ok?'

One of the Leafeons replied. The mother from the feminine voice.

'I… I don't know.'

Jack felt his heart break.

Innocent families like this one get hurt daily. Perhaps not THIS badly, but they still suffer.

"What can I do? There's so many Pokemon in danger. W… We can't save them all. Is it even worth trying? Knowing that when you accept one request, another is ignored, and the person, abandoned to their fate."

Finally his vision shifted to an imagine of him as a Fennekin, standing outside his home smoking a cigarette.

"That's right… even I am falling to the corruption. Should I even bother? Knowing that I am succumbing to the same thing I'm trying to save people from."

'Yes! Yes you should!'

"Who…"

His vision shifts again. This time it shows Elise and himself when they first met outside Elise's home.

'It's good to see someone who isn't influenced by darkness and is not in danger. Maybe you could help me. I want to stop this. I want to stop the pain. The suffering. Just because some people give up, doesn't mean I have to.'

'You're very motivated, and you have a great sense of right and wrong. You're a very noble soul. I will fight for you.'

'Thank you. I look forwards to working with you. We will make a difference. However big or small. Every little bit helps.'

His vision shifts once again to the first mission they accomplished.

The were standing in front of a Nidoran and a Nidoqueen.

'Thank you so much for helping me find my daughter. We got separated during a freak sandstorm and I couldn't find her. I don't know what I'd do without you.'

'Don't mention it ma'am. Just doing our jobs.'

'Uh Elise, we're volunteers. We don't get paid. This isn't a job.'

'Do you have to be such a literal minded smartass?'

'Of course I do.'

'Jack you could try the patience of a Legendary.' (Legendary is the Pokemon version of a saint.)

'You're wrong again. I could try the patience of Arceus Himself.'

'I'll agree with you on that one.'

'You should be used to it. I'm usually right.'

'You ass.'

'You know you love me.'

'I wonder sometimes.'

They all share a laugh.

Jack smiles.

The image fades and Jack is returned to the void.

'Jack, this is what we fight for. People are in danger, and they need our help. We can't be wrapped up in oh-woe-is-me self pity. If we are, they suffer. So snap out of it.'

The voice finally became clear. It was Elise, or at least a mental projection of her.

'The Jack that I know would never quit. The Jack that I know would fight until the very end, no matter how bleak it looks. Even if it crosses the line of bravery and stupidity, the Jack I know FIGHTS.'

As Elise's voice stops, Jack is filled with resolve.

"Yes. That's who I am. I am Jack. I am the most stubborn Pokemon in existence. From the last day, to the last mission, to the last battle, to the last second, to my last breath I will fight. I will fight now, and I WON'T STOP!"

The void flashes white and vanishes.

When Jack returns to the Dark Realms, they aren't so dark anymore.

The scenery is now normal colored, the nearby water smells fresh and clean, and the overall atmosphere is much less depressing.

'Congratulations Jack. You've purified the first area.'

'How long will it last?'

'About a month. Look.'

Jack looks at his hands, and sees the Esscence of Darkness is already regaining strength.

'Well it's better than nothing.'

Jack puts the Esscene of Darkness back in its place.

'I'll see you tomorrow in a new area Jack. Good luck.'

The world around him spins and suddenly, he's awake and back on the boat.

'*Sighs* So now I have 2 worlds to save. It just keeps getting better.'


	11. Giving In

After 72 hours of rescuing by day and saving the dark realms by night, Elise began to notice a change in Jack.

On the first day she noticed something, she assumed Jack just hadn't slept well. So she took lead and did the majority of the work, which she was fine with. Everyone has an off day now and then.

She thought the next day would be better, but then it just got worse and worse.

Elise asked around town about it before Jack would wake, but didn't come to any conclusions.

One did tell her it sounded like the longest fade away after sex in history.

She wasn't sure wether to laugh or beat the hell out of him.

Eventually she thought that maybe he was sick, so she went to the town clinic and spoke to the nurse at the desk. A female Pikachu.

'May I help you miss?'

'Yeah I may need some medication for my partner.'

'What are the symptoms?'

'3 days ago I noticed he was sluggish, yawning a lot. I figured he just didn't sleep well, but over the last 2 days he's just gotten worse. While I'm sure this all ties into him being tired, he's experienced loss of balance, clumsiness, excessive yawning, and overall weakness.'

'Sounds like he might be getting Insomnia. I can give you some medicine for it and because it's not a controlled substance I just need a straight payment of 500 from you.'

'Thank you. I'll tell him we're skipping a day so he can rest and give him the medicine.'

Elise payed for the medication and left.

When Jack woke, he found a note near him.

"Jack,

I've noticed how tired you've been over the last few days. I talked to a nurse and they said you need to get some sleep. So I bought this medication to help you sleep at night. Don't worry about our 'job' today. You need rest. I can handle it by myself today.

Elise"

Jack looked at the bottle and read out loud.

'Take 2 tablets orally before you go to sleep. Side effects include headache, nausea, drowsiness, what the hell do you think I'm taking this for, excessive thirst, and addiction if taken when not needed. Ok seems mild enough.'

Jack decided to have a nice long nap and promptly swallowed 2 tablets.

He was out in 10 minutes.

When he woke, he found himself back in the Dark Realms. Only this time, he could barely keep his eyes open.

'Ugh. What's wrong with me?'

'Your medicine is working.'

The Voice, as Jack named it, greeted him as always.

'Its not possible. I'm *Yawns* sleeping.'

'Correct. However, sleeping medicine works on the mind by forcing the body to rest. In this realm, you don't have a physical body. You can't sleep, so you just feel tired, like stupidly tired.'

'Well then let's j*Yawns* just get this over with then.'

The Voice doesn't respond.

Jack starts stumbling around try to find the Essence of Darkness. He was so tired he couldn't even walk straight.

After 30 minutes of more or less blindly walking around, he found it.

He grabbed it and held it to his chest, but this time, he felt pain explode all over him.

'Urk… wh-what's happening?'

'Hahahahahaha! This is it!'

The Voice was now darker.

'What is this?!'

'I've been lying to you! The Dark Realms can't be purified. All that you've done has been an illusion. When you purify an area, all that has been happening is you've resisted the power of the Essence of Darkness. Now that you're too tired to resist, it's time for you to join us.'

Jack looked at the Esscence of Darkness in horror. The red mist began flowing into his body, and he could feel it warping his body.

'No, NO!'

His fur began to alter in color.

Wherever there was yellow fur, it turned red.

Red fur turned black.

His red eyes turned grey and dead.

'Such a beautiful specimen. You'll fit in well Jack.'

Jack was much quieter now, almost whispering.

No… this can't be happening. I can't fight it. I don't have any energy.'

As the Esscence of Darkness began to become less and less dark, Jack felt as if his very would was being crushed under an invisible weight.

'Please… stop.'

'It's too late now.'

Eventually, the Esscence of Darkness became empty and clear. It soon shattered after that.

Jack looked at his body.

He looked scary… mean… evil.

'Why?'

'The last hope for the world has fallen to darkness. You've lost.'

'No… I… I can still fight.'

'No you can't.'

'YES! I CAN!'

'Why can't I control you!? You've been flooded with darkness!'

'Because I'm too stubborn to admit when I've lost. I've got an iron zeal that you can't break!'

'Well I don't need to anymore. Even if I can't yet control you, all I have to do is wait for you to fall to darkness. You may not be defeated, but you're more vulnerable to it than ever.'

'I will never admit defeat.'

'We'll see about that. Goodbye Jack.'

Jack's vision went white as he returned to his body.

When he woke up, he found his fur was normal again. Another side effect of his physical body not coming with him to the Dark Realms.

'This just got that much tougher. I will continue to fight, but is it a lost cause?'


	12. Busted

It took 2 days for Jack to become fully "with it" again. His mind had too much to process at first, but eventually he sorted out what he could.

Oh and if things weren't bad enough, he found himself addicted to the sleeping pills since he took one when he didn't truly need to. He had no trouble sleeping, he just continued to strain his mind while he slept, so the sleeping pills weren't needed, and a side effect was that they may cause addiction.

Yeah Jack was in a bad way.

However, there was some good news.

Elise had evolved during Jack's resting period.

Still, it wasn't much compensation for the steep price Jack would end up paying.

He was still drinking and smoking, and now that he was also taking drugs, albiet minor ones, it began to affect his health.

His physical strength was failing him, and he began to rely more and more on his mental abilities, and since he was still only a Fire Type, it was very straining.

His lungs were also getting badly damaged from all the toxins from his smoking habit. He was running out of breath more and more, and he often had to ask Elise to slow down so he could keep up.

On one particular mission, he started hyperventilating because his lungs simply couldn't draw enough air in.

He ended up passing out, and they failed the mission.

It was the first time they had ever failed.

Elise confronted Jack and demanded to know what was wrong with him.

'Jack, we just failed our first mission. Now I wouldn't have a problem if it was simply we weren't prepared or strong enough, but we failed because you couldn't keep up and ended up passing out from hyperventilation. I want to know what is wrong with you, and I want to know now.'

'Elise I really don-'

'THE TRUTH!'

'*Sighs* I've been smoking.'

'…'

'What it is-'

'I know what it is! I'm just shocked that you take part in such an unhealthy activity. How the hell didn't I notice?'

'Because I've been burning my fur to rid the smell.'

'Jack… I want to make one thing VERY clear. If this habit causes us to fail more missions like we just did, I'm going to kick you out of my team.'

'I understand.'

'Good. Now get out of my home.'

That night, before taking his pills, he went to find the person who had started his bad habits. He hoped that he would have something to help with his physical weakness.

'You ever heard of crystal meth?'

'I don't believe I have.'

(Not sure if I'm right about this, but whatever)

'It can basically make you immune to pain and give you a large energy boost, like, stupidly large.'

'I see. How would I take it?'

'There are several ways, but I recommend 2. Orally or nasally.'

'How much would this cost?'

'I'll tell ya what. Since I don't have to pay for the ingredients, don't ask how I get them, and since you're such a good customer, no charge.'

'Thanks so much. I owe ya one.'

(Morning… the next day)

Jack woke up and quickly ate the crystals he got yesterday. However since he was up late last night, Elise arrived not long after, and she was shocked.

Jack was standing still and his eyes were as wide as they could be.

'Uh… Jack?'

'Yeah how ya doin?'

'Are you ok?'

'Oh I'm fantastic but I'm so confused.'

'About what?'

Jack looks at the wall behind him.

'Why is there no hole in this wall?'

Jack puts his head through the wall.

Elise is more or less speechless.

'*Whispers* What the fuck?'

Jack pulls his head out and looks at Elise again.

'Alright I'm gonna go for a run.'

Jack jumps out of one of the windows, seemingly immune to the broken glass.

Elise stands there for well over a minute. Completely dumbfounded by what she just saw.

'I… What?'

She searches his home and finds alcoholic drinks, cigarettes, a mostly empty bottle of sleeping pills, and some form of crystallized… something.

She took them to the police.


	13. Arrested

When Jack returned home, officers were waiting for him. He was arrested instantly.

As a pair of Magneton led him away, a Tropius stopped them.

'Jack, you are under arrest for under-aged consumption of alcohol, under-aged consumption of drugs, possession of controlled substance without prescription, and consumption of controlled substance without prescription. Do you understand the charges as I have read them to you?'

'Yes sir.'

'Good. Take him away.'

After that scene ended, Elise simply slumped against one of the outside walls. She simply couldn't believe that her trusted partner had done all that.

Worse, she began to suspect that he may have been the one to steal her prized Gold Ribbon to pay for his habits.

She spoke with Keckleon, and he confirmed that Jack did indeed sell a Gold Ribbon to him when Elise was hibernating.

She was pissed off.

(Scene Change… Prison)

Jack was roughly shoved by a Lucario officer into a cell.

'Get in there you fucker.'

Jack scraped his body on the concrete floor, but he was muzzled, and couldn't scream even if he wanted too.

'Guess your partner never learned not to trust a fox.'

'Mfmmpfmmmfrrrmpf.'

'QUIET!'

The Lucario drew a Bone Rush staff and smacked Jack on the head through the bars.

The Ground Type move seriously hurt, but one hit wasn't too bad. If he was subject to the full on volley of attacks then he would be in trouble.

'Now you sit there and rot!'

The Lucario then spits on him.

Jack quickly wiped it off.

He would've taken the muzzle off too, but it was secured by a padlock, and even if he knew the combination, he couldn't see the numbers.

(Scene Change… Elise's Home… 1 Month After Jack's Arrest)

Elise had just failed another mission.

In the month since Jack's arrest, her record was only 10-15. She had failed more than succeeded.

And it wasn't just because now she was going in alone, it was because Jack was a good compliment to her type.

However, he was still serving a 1 year prison sentence.

Today she also got a message from the group that she volunteered for.

'"Elise,

Due to your dramatic fall of rescue and search missions, we are issuing this warning. If you can't turn it around in the next month you will not be allowed to continue. So you will no longer receive food or med icine should you continue this, mediocre performance.

RASAR (Rescue, Assistance, Service, and Relief) HQ"

DAMN IT! I need to get Jack out of jail and on my team again before I get kicked out. He may not be as resistant to darkness as I had hoped, but he was a damn good fighter.'

(Scene Change… Prison)

Jack was playing with a ball of Psychic energy. He would toss it up and manipulate it in strange and at times beautiful ways.

At one point he tossed it in the air, grabbed it in his left hand, rolled it across his arms to his right hand, crushed it, and then turned the fragments into many different colors. Resulting in a rainbow of particles.

However, he was running out of ideas.

No one ever spoke to him, and he was still muzzled, except for when food was delivered, so he had almost never spoken in that 1 month time. So his sanity was a bit questionable, but he still knew what was real.

As he began thinking of another way to manipulate the Psychic energy sphere, the Lucario guard banged on the bars.

'You have a visitor.'

'Mf? Mffmrphfrnpf.'

He had tried to say, "What? No one ever visits me."

The Lucario opened the door, unlocked the muzzle, and escorted Elise in.

'Elise.'

'Jack.'

'You have 15 minutes.'

The Lucario shut the cage and locked it again. He left afterwards.

'Why are you here?'

Elise walked up to Jack and slapped him with a Vine Whip.

'What the fuck is wrong with you!?'

'I'm sorry.'

Jack had put his head down. He refused to make eye contact with Elise.

'I trusted you! I thought you were different! I believed in you! How could you turn your back on me like that!?'

'…'

Elise couldn't see it, but Jack's eyes were watering.

'No answer. Of course. Nothing to say in your defense?'

Jack simply shook his head slightly.

'Why did you do it? Why did you allow yourself to fall into those habits?'

Jack remained silent.

For the first time in ages, a tear fell from Jack's eye.

The reason his head was down was because he felt he was going to cry, and he didn't want anyone to see.

'When I ask a question, I want you to answer. Why did you let yourself slip like that?'

Nothing.

'Listen you alcoholic idiot. I want to know why. If you don't answer me, I'll leave you here to rot.'

Jack makes the sound people make when they draw in a breath whilst crying.

'Are you… crying?'

Jack sniffs and reluctantly nods his head.

'Hey. What's wrong? I'm not trying to hurt you. I just want an answer and you're very stubborn. Why are you crying?'

'I… *sniffs* I can't tell you. *Gasping* It's too painful.'

'Are you afraid?'

Jack nods his head. He's now full on bawling.

'Hey. Let's take a walk.'

The Lucario guard was suspicious, but Elise was a well known person in the area, and had a reputation for honestly and justice, so he allowed her to walk with Jack.

'I see your face in my dreams Jack. I've done the best I could, but the last month has been tough without you. I'm on the verge of being disallowed from volunteering because I've failed so many missions now. I need you by my side.'

'I can't. You deserve better than me.'

'Jack. I've talked to the warden. He's agreed to let you out for good behavior if you continue working with me and stay away from illegal substances.'

'Elise I can't do it. I'm not… I'm not strong enough.'

'Jack… please just come back. Let's start over. We can be a team again.'

'Im sorry Elise. I'm just not strong enough to resist the temptations of this world.'

'Fine. Then you're comin with me right now.'

'What do you mean?'

Elise wrapped one of her vines around Jack's arm and pulled him along with her.

'I'm gonna find out your deal. One way or another.'


	14. PROVE HIM WRONG!

**This chapter is short, but it reveals a lot about Jack and the plot.**

Elise drug Jack to the exercise room.

'Why are we here?'

'Because I'm gonna light a fire under your ass, and hopefully that'll set you straight and get me some answers.'

Since her arms were too short, she used her Vine Whip to grab a pair of what are known as Focus Mitts. (They're what trainers use when they have a boxer hit their hands)

'Alright. You're gonna hit one of these with your left twice, then yell and cross with your right. Understood?'

Jack simply nods.

'Well get to it then.'

Thump thump thwack.

'No no no. I told you to yell did I not?'

'You did.'

'THEN FUCKING YELL! AGAIN!'

Thump thump 'Ha.' Thwack.

'YELL YOU COWARD! DON'T BE A BITCH!'

Thump thump 'Huh.' Thwack.

'COME ON! SHOW ME SOME FIRE!'

Thump thump 'HA!' Thwack.

'NOT GONNA CUT IT JACK! YOU'RE STILL HOLDING IT IN!'

Thump thump 'HA!' Thwack!

'NOT GOOD ENOUGH JACK! NOT GOOD ENOUGH!'

Thump Thump 'HAH!' Thwack!

'IS THAT ALL YOU'VE GOT!?'

Thump Thump! 'HAH!' THWACK!

Thump Thump! 'HAH!' THWACK!

'THERE WE GO! Don't know what happened, but those last few had some force in them.'

'It was me realizing what an ass I've been.'

'In what way?'

'Because you've been nothing but honest with me, and I've lied to you for months.'

Elise had a look that showed mixed surprise and expectation.

She didn't say anything so Jack continued.

'I'm not a Pokemon. I was a human at one point.'

'So why did you lie?'

'Because I thought I needed to be like I was before. Keep my head low, don't draw attention, basically keep myself down.'

'YOU'VE GOT NO REASON TO KEEP YOURSELF DOWN JACK!'

'But, my father…'

'What about him?'

'He never said one nice thing to me. Never gave me a compliment. Pushed me around, told me I sucked, and that I would never make anything of myself. He was a hard worker, but didn't give a fuck about his own son who loved him, and cared about him. I let it destroy me, and he died before I got the chance to prove him wrong.'

'Then that's what you have to do now! PROVE HIM! FUCKING! WRONG! LET'S GO!'

THUMP THUMP! 'HAAAAAH!' THWACK!

'PROVE HIM WRONG! PROVE HIM WRONG!'

THUMP THUMP! 'HAAAAAAH!' THWACK!

'THERE'S THE FIRE! THERE'S THE HEART! THERE'S MY JACK! COME ON ONE MORE!'

THUMP THUMP! ' **HAAAAAAAAAAAH!** ' THWACK!

'EXCELLENT! How do I get this Jack back into the Dungeons?'

'Are we done?'

'Yeah. We're done.'

'Elise, thank you. You've made me realize that, I've been blaming my failures on my father, when it's really been me. He's gone, I can't blame him anymore.'


	15. Your Mind is Weak

After Jack finally got some closure on his past, he was released from prison for good behavior on the next day, provided that he continued volunteer work with Elise, and kept away from illegal substances.

He was going to go to his home, but Elise insisted that they share a home so she could keep an eye on him.

He decided it was fair, and agreed.

After they started doing missions again, Elise's string of failed missions ended, and they went into a long string of successes.

After 18 days, 18 missions, without a single failure, Jack started smiling again.

However, on their 19th mission, something happened that made him grin like nothing else.

Jack held his twig like a shotgun, and used a Fire Blast. The end of the stick shot out a group of flames that actually wasn't unlike a shotgun blast.

The Venasaur went down instantly.

After it fell, Jack began to glow again.

'Evolution time!'

The light once again engulfed him, and when it faded, he had a long flowing "robe" of fur, and even more fluff in his ears. He was a Delphox.

'I feel… wow… my mind feels so powerful.'

'Delphox are a dual Fire/Psychic type. That's probably why.'

Jack studied his new form, and Elise waited patiently. She did the same when she evolved.

As they were waiting, Elise was whacked by a Poison Sting from an Arbok.

She wasn't poisoned, but it hurt like a bitch.

'That was cheap.'

Jack's instincts kicked in again.

He reached into his "robe" and pulled out the twig/wand with his left. Again he focused pure Psychic energy into his open right, but this energy was different. It looked the same, but Jack could FEEL something different.

He shot his palm towards the Arbok, which threw its head back, went still for a few seconds, then went back to normal.

Then it did nothing.

Jack wondered about it, when he felt the Arbok's mind inside of his.

'Did I just…'

He focused on the Arbok's mind, and sent that mind a message to move to the left.

The Arbok moves left.

Jack was amazed.

He was actually mind controlling this Arbok!

Instincts told him he could break this whoever he chose, and that he could only control 1 Pokemon at a time.

'Jack… what just happened?'

'This Arbok is under my control. I'm mind controlling him.'

'You never cease to amaze me.'

Jack was easily able to control the Arbok and himself.

"Man if my mind was a computer NASA would use it to coordinate a mission to Mars."

He seamlessly moved both himself and the Arbok. His mind worked so stupidly fast that you couldn't tell the Arbok was being controlled.

'Looks like we got a new scout.'

'What do you mean?'

'He's gonna be going first. Better that the opponent is attacking one of their own than you or me.'

'Genius.'

'I'm a Psychic fox. Cunning and intelligence are my best assets.'

'Hey Jack. When we get home, I wanna talk to you for a bit.'

'You sound… serious.'

'Yes. I wanna have a heart to heart with you. Maybe we could do something to make it more, light.'

'Maybe a picnic?'

'Sounds lovely.'

'On top of Lookout Point? I'll pack.'

'Deal.'

As they finished their mission and Jack released the Arbok from his mental hold, Jack grabbed a basket and filled it with an assortment of food and beverages.

(Scene Change… Lookout Point…)

Lookout Point was the very top of a huge hill that overlooked the village and the surrounding forest. One could even see the mountains in the background on clear days like this one.

Jack spread out a large blanket beneath a nice shady tree, and began to unpack.

He brought a virtual cornucopia of berries, beverages, breads, cheeses, condiments, and even meats.

'Wow Jack! What an impressive spread!'

'I feel like after everything you've done for me, and at times to me, you deserve a bit of spoiling on my behalf.'

'Where did you get all of this?'

'I twisted Keckleon's wrist. I told him that if he got me this stuff, all fresh, he could forget about our old deal of free stuff. He didn't like doing that very much.'

'It's great Jack. Thank you.'

Jack and Elise sat down and leaned against the tree.

Jack made himself a chicken sandwich and a nice glass of pure Oran Juice.

Elise started with some of the berries, mainly Pechas because she had a sweet tooth.

Despite that, she never chewed. As a snake she just swallowed it whole.

She also poured herself some Oran Juice. It was very revitalizing.

'This is nice Jack.'

'Yeah, but let's get to why we came here. What did you want to talk about?'

'Mm *swallows another berry* I almost forgot.'

Elise looked Jack in the eye.

His fiery red eyes that once had seemed to have given up were once again full of life.

'Jack… I don't know what you went through as a child when you were human, and… I'm afraid to ask.'

'I… can't tell you.'

'That's… kind of scary, but I can respect it. I'm sure it's something you wouldn't want to talk about, but you don't have to worry anymore. You're amongst friends here. If there's anything… anything at all, that you need, or want help with. Just say something. Don't let yourself fall back into trouble.'

'I understand. I'm sorry if I caused you any grief.'

'No, it's fine. Now it's all in the past, and seriously. If you ever need something, please just ask.'

Jack shifts uncomfortably.

'There is… one thing, I'd like to ask.'

'You sound unsure of yourself.'

'It's kind of embarrassing.'

'I'm here for you Jack.'

'I've, never actually kissed a girl in all my years as a human, and I haven't in this world either. I want to know what it feels like.'

'So you want to kiss me?'

'If you don't mind.'

'Go ahead.'

Jack hesitated just for a second, then kissed Elise. Since Elise, as a snake, didn't have lips, she couldn't return it, but she liked it.

'Thanks Elise. It was nice.'

'I'm alright with it should you ever want to do it again.'

'… I love you Elise.'

'I love you too Jack.'

As the sun was starting to fall to the tops of the distant mountains, Jack grabbed Elise's shoulder and pulled her close as they sat and ate in silence for the remainder of their trip.


	16. The Truth… All of it

Jack woke up first the next day. His arms were curled around Elise.

He blushed and pulled his arms away slowly as to not wake her.

"I should probably check the mail first."

He stretched his back and walked outside to the mailbox.

'Hmmmmm. Let's see here. "Notice of Upcoming Audit," "Summoning for Jury Duty," "Get Internet for $50 from Comcast?" What? Ah here we go.

"Jack and Elise,

The Federation(The organization Jack and Elise volunteer for) has been pursuing one of the most dangerous criminals on record. A nasty Gengar named Dusk. After our last pursuit, he fled into a place of total darkness. It has been named Deathmai, for the number of Explorers who have vanished while exploring it. Due to your recent string of successful missions, and the fact that you both can see in dark places, we are assigning you to catch him. He is very intelligent, and shows no mercy. Be careful.

Federation Leader,

HR"

Hmm. Interesting.'

'What is?'

'Oh Elise, good morning. Take a look at this.'

Jack hands the mail to Elise.

'… Internet? The hell is that?'

'Oh, not that one. This one.'

As Elise reads it her eyes widen.

'Is something wrong?'

'Deathmai is rated as one of the most dangerous places in history.'

'Does it matter?'

'What?'

'Does it really matter? How bad it is or who we're chasing, does it matter?'

'I don't follow.'

'We have our orders. No matter what the danger is, we need to do as we are told. They obviously trust us.'

'True… I just don't know.'

'Well we better prepare well. Let's split up. I'll handle food and cure items like berries, you handle the items that boost our abilities, like seeds.'

'Sounds like a plan.'

The pair went their separate ways.

As Jack was going to the local farmers who grow the foods, he heard a familiar voice.

'Good to see you're out of jail, now we can continue our business.'

Jack knew that voice well. It was the one who had gotten him hooked on drugs and alcohol.

'Our "business" is finished, thank you very much.'

'What!?'

'I will never again buy your "merchandise." I'm done with you. Leave me alone.'

'YOU LITTLE ACK!'

Jack, unsure if it was a Dark Type and therefore immune to his Psychic attacks, launched a Flamethrower at it from his wand.

'Now get out of here before I lose my temper.'

'Mark my words. This! Is not over!'

The unknown Pokemon leaves.

'Hmph. Waste of my time.'

After Jack and Elise gathered their supplies they met up at their home and began the long walk to Deathmai Cave.

Along the way, Elise began questioning Jack about his human life. One of her questions however, struck Jack as shocking.

'Do you remember how one day when I asked you if we should recruit more allies you said no? *Jack nods* Then when I asked why not you told me that you'd tell me one day? *Nods* Is today that day? *Another nod* So why don't you want to recruit more teammates? Is it something to do with your past?'

'Yes. It's a long story, but we have time.'

'Lay it on me.'

'Back when I was just a boy, I was… timid… nervous. My first day of school scared me as I had no idea what to expect. Kindergarten wasn't too bad, but 1st grade was a nightmare. I know what you're thinking. What changed? Grades. In Kindergarten, it was mostly about play time and having fun, but in first grade, we got graded on stuff, and kids loved to show each other their grades. For the most part they were distinctly average students. All but one. Me. My grades were excellent. I got straight A grades on 3 of my 4 report cards, and on the 4th I only had one B. I was smarter than the others. I was something that humanity hates. I was different. The people in school are conformists. They want everyone to wear the same stupid clothes, say the same stupid slangs, and get the same mediocre grades. They had to work for their grades, but I was naturally smarter, so I didn't have to work for mine, and that pissed them off. Starting in 1st grade I was bullied almost daily. Called a nerd, a weakling, a wierdo, and that was all bearable because we were in 1st grade and the insults weren't exactly clever or powerful, but as we grew up and approached 2nd grade, they started to get more clever in their insults. Hell if they put as much effort into their school work as they did insulting me this problem wouldn't have occurred. Anyways, as their taunts got more clever, I began to bear down and cry. I would become completely unresponsive and my parents often had to come get me from school, which was met with anger from them, particularly my father. However, 5th grade was the worst. Day in and day out I was bullied not just verbally, but physically. One group of 5 in particularly loved to beat me. Fortunately I was very tough so it never really hurt, but I made life just that much harder. I was seriously depressed, and at one point considered suicide. Eventually I tried to get help from a teacher or playground supervisor, but they rarely cared. It was public school. They didn't give a shit about us most of the time, and the few times they did, we were all sent to the office, and we would be asked our side of the story. This was where the worst part was. It was the word of one, me, against five, them. The fatal flaw was that we were questioned at the same time, so they could easily change whatever story they would've told to match the other bullies. I was made to seem like the bad guy, and I was the only one who was ever punished. It tore me apart, and it changed me. Where there once was a kind, but timid young boy, there was now a cold and untrusting adolescent. I began to think about why they hated me. I eventually came to the conclusion that they were jealous that I was smarter than they were. That I didn't have to work for my grades, and I think it really pissed them off. I was hated because I was smarter than they were! What kind of fucked up logic is that!? They should've been asking me for tutoring, not beating my ass! Once I realized why they did it, I began to shun them too. The teachers too, as I believed I knew more than they did, and I still believe that. I couldn't trust anyone who was less than I was because of what they would do because I was better than they were. In my whole life I only had one friend. A kid in who early on in high school managed to get a book written by him published. I considered him my equal, and I was close friends with him until we went our separate ways. I wonder what ever happened to him… sorry, just reminiscing. Anyways, that's the reason why I only want you to be on our team with me, because I consider you my equal. I can trust you. You won't stab me in the back like everyone else bar one did. I know it seems shallow, but it's who I am now.'

Elise is quiet for a good 15 minutes while she absorbs all this new information.

'… Jack… I'm sorry. I'm so, so sorry. I had no idea. I suspected that your father wasn't the only thing that troubled you as a human, but… I couldn't have imagined all this.'

'Yes, well… it doesn't matter anymore.'

'YES IT DOES MATTER!'

Elise throws her short arms around Jack and hugs him as best she can.

'Jack, you've had a rough life. It's a miracle that you're still here to talk to me. I don't know if I would've been able to go all that time without offing myself.'

'Elise it's fine. I've put it more or less behind me, but the lessons I learned from it can't be forgotten.'

'Jack, no matter what they said, you are a good man. A very strong and resilient man. It's a privilege to work with you Jack.'

'Elise, I appreciate the sentiment, but it's lost on me. All feelings of emotional investment were beaten out of me in 5th grade. It was easier that way.'

'Jack you're broken. You should have been a very friendly, yet shy man, but you've become a cold, unfeeling one instead. I'm so sorry.'

'It's done already Elise… there's nothing we can do.'

After Elise let go, they travelled in complete silence the rest of the way.

 **If this sounds oddly specific, it's because the part about bullying and distrust is heavily based off of my life in school. I did only have 1 friend and he did indeed publish a book early in life. In fact it was at the age of 12. His name is Ryan Byrnes. I wonder if he remembers me.**


	17. Shadows of Deathmai

Elise and Jack stood before a massive hole in the mountain's side.

Deathmai was a mountain, and a cave. The mountain was the tallest in the world, and the cave was the darkest, as well as the coldest.

'It's gone be cold in there Elise. You up for it?'

'I'll stand by your side until death.'

'Good answer.'

As they stepped into the yawning mouth of the cave, they heard a sound like the laughter of demons echoing in the depths of hell.

They could feel eyes watching them from the darkness.

Though whether it was the Gengar Dusk's gaze they felt, or the eyes of Darkrai… they will never know.

'Keep your voice down and watch your step Elise. I don't want him to hear us coming.'

'Understood.'

The cave quickly descended into darkness.

The reason they were picked was that Jack, as a fox like Pokemon, had excellent night vision, and Elise, as a snake, had a type of thermal vision thanks to the pits on her nose.

However, as they went deeper and deeper into the icy cave, even Jack's superior night vision began to fail him. It was too dark for his eyes to pick up any amount of light.

Jack continued forwards with impaired vision, and ended up slipping on a patch of unseen ice.

He dug his toe claws into the ice and managed to avoid falling, but Elise noticed this and expressed her concerns.

'Are you ok? Didn't you see that?'

'I'm fine, but it's too dark. I can't see much of anything anymore. And I can't use a torch because the heat could cause the ceiling to melt and collapse on us.'

'Any ideas?'

'… I might have one.'

Jack hold up his right hand/paw and focuses.

A bright white Psychic energy materializes and lights up the path for about 20 feet all around them.

'Wow. That's not putting out any heat.'

Elise's thermal vision never saw the light because it didn't put out any heat. To her sensors, it seemed he was simply holding up his hand like an idiot.

Elise switched back to her normal vision and they kept going.

'Is there anything that Psychic energy can't do?'

'I know one thing, it can't hurt Dark Types.'

'… True.'

They followed the winding path for ages. Eventually, they began to get hungry.

'Let's stop here and eat. There doesn't seem to be any hostile Pokemon here.'

'I can't say I blame them. This place is… scary.'

Jack gently tossed the ball of energy in the air and made it hang there while they ate.

His mind was easily able to multitask.

'Hey Jack, about your story from your childhood'

'I don't want to talk about it.'

'Well I do. Listen, I understand why you're so hesitant to trust people, I imagine anyone would after all that, but a good number of Pokemon here are good. We don't shun differences, because every species is so distinctly different that it would be stupid to do so. You don't have to hide who you are here.'

'I have never hid my personality from this world. My habits yes, but my personality, no.'

'But you said you were shy and timid.'

'The keyword being we're. People change. This is my personality now. The old Jack died a long time ago.'

'Jack, I've always wondered about you. You've always been so… odd, and this story explains, so much.'

'… We've wasted enough time. Let's go.'

Jack grabbed the ball again and they continued on.

Eventually the path began to widen, and finally they came to a large chamber that continued the path on the other side.

The ceiling here was made of rock, but that's not what caused Jack to look up.

'*Whistles* Get a load of that. Together we aren't the first explorers to come this way.'

The roof was covered in paintings. A giant blue and pink creature fighting.

A white and black dragon in a desperate struggle.

A blue sea creature and a colossal red mountain in a war.

These were just a few of the numerous drawings.

'*Sighs* I'm starting to get a bad feeling about this one.'

'Starting?'

'Come on. This place gives me the creeps.'

They pressed on.

After what must've been a total of 12 hours in that damned cave, Elise began to falter.

Her teeth began to chatter, her breathing became labored, and she was slowing down.

'Hey J-Jack. Let's b-bed down f-f-for a b-b-b-bit.'

'Yeah I'm getting tired too. How are you holding up?'

'Could be b-better.'

'Come here.'

Jack held Elise close to him to warm her up with his body heat.

'Much better.'

'Goodnight Elise.'

'Goodnight Jack.'

Jack "extinguished" the light and they laid down to sleep.

After and unknown amount of time, Elise woke up, refreshed, warm, and ready to go.

'Come on Jack, let's go.'

No response.

'Jack you're drooling on me.'

Nothing.

Elise sighed and kicked Jack.

'Huh? Oh. Right.'

As they continued along, the cave began to incline up at about 20 degrees, making the already slippery cave even worse. Jack had to dig his claws in like ice hooks to walk properly.

Elise didn't have claws, so she used her Vine Whip to anchor herself to Jack's waist.

He had to pull her up.

Now Elise wasn't very heavy, but Jack still had bad lungs from when he smoked, and they often had to stop so Jack could catch his breath.

After the 5th break, Jack noticed a piece of paper on the frozen ground. It was old, but since the ice didn't melt, it was dry.

Jack picked it up and began to read.

'"When we arrived at this mountain we believed we were the first to ever explore it, but we found out that was not the case when we came upon a tribe of Ice Types. They welcomed us in and fed us a warm meal, but they also gave us a warning. Beware the creature they said. Over and over they warned us. Beware the creature. What creature?

Z"

Elise, things just got interesting.'

They continued forwards up the slope, and finally it flattened out, but not before Jack found another diary entry by whoever Z was.

'"We did it. We've reached the top. Gliscor and I are ecstatic. I can see the world curve in the distance. The view is incredible. I wish whoever is reading this could see it.

Z"'

'Wait. If they reached the top, how did these pages get in here?'

'Only one way to find out. Let's keep moving. Keep an eyes out for that Gengar and any other pages.'

They eventually ate again, and after another who knows how long, discovered another entry.

"Upon returning to the village, we were told of a treasure. There's a cave system nearby, and if we can find it, we can find the treasure. We have enough food and water so we've decided to go for it. Again they gave us the same warning. Beware the creature.

Z"

This just gets stranger by the minute.'

'I wouldn't mind finding some treasure.'

'Elise we have to focus on our mission. Besides what are the odds this treasure existed at all, and even if it did what are the odds it's still there?'

'You're right, sorry.'

They continued even further, and Jack began to feel a very light breeze.

'I think we're getting close to the end.'

'Good. This place is unnerving.'

A bit further, another page.

'"We had no idea what was waiting for us in that cave. The creature they spoke of is real! It's attacked us and wounded us both. We managed to escape, but we're both badly injured and bleeding. We can't go back for fear of running into it again. We have to go on.

Z"'

'Jack I don't like this anymore.'

'Don't worry. These pages look to be decades old. Whatever this creature is, it's long dead.'

As the continued on, the breeze got stronger, but the cave also began to narrow out.

'I can smell fresh air again. It's not much father.'

They found another page.

'"We've found it! A hoard of gold and gems so large it would take us 10 trips to get it all out of here! However, Gliscor has been overcome by greed. I read his diary when he was sleeping, and I now know he plans to kill me and take the gold for himself. Only one of us will leave this mountain, and whoever it is will be rich beyond their wildest dreams.

Z"'

They were silent as they finished reading.

Finally, the cave began to feel like it had an end, but then Jack and Elise saw the corpse of a Gliscor. A page was in the bones of its claws.

'"Gliscor attacked me, but I was ready for it, and although I've been further injured, I survived, and he has died. The end of the cave seems near. I must get out of here before I bleed out or freeze to death.

Z"'

Again they were silent.

Eventually they saw something they were beginning to wonder if they would ever see again.

Daylight.

They could hear the wind outside, see the light of the sun, smell the air, and feel the breeze.

However, they came across another corpse. This one of a Zangoose. A torn up book was clutched in its claws. A single page still in it.

'"I can't keep going. I can see the end, but I can hear heavy snow and wind. There's a blizzard going on outside, and behind me is where that creature is. I'm doomed to die here. I don't know when this diary will be found, or if it ever will be. Our bodied may never be found. I may never get the burial I deserve. I fear what lies on the other side, but I will soon find out.

Goodbye,

Z"'

They are quiet for a bit, when a voice interrupts their thoughts.

'Sad isn't it?'

They turn around and see a Gengar standing behind them.

'Dusk.'

'That's what they call me nowadays. I still prefer my old nickname. Z.'

'Wait. Are you saying that, this corpse, used to be you?'

'Yeah. Arceus met me when I died, but told me that I hadn't been laid to rest, so I couldn't move on to the afterlife. I was sent back here as a Gengar. A Ghost.'

'So why didn't you do it yourself?'

'I can't touch it. My hands go right through it.'

Z attempts to touch the old bones, only for his hand to completely go through them.

'I need someone else to do it for me. So I've been trying to get people to chase me. Hunt me down. Then I could lead them here and tell them the truth after they read my story. The book and pages I can touch, I just can't touch my old body. I left them in those places to ensure that my story was read in the proper order. However a lot of them died before they could make it here. So as an apology, I buried them myself, so they wouldn't have to wander the planet like I do. You are the only ones to make it this far.'

'Why didn't you just tell people the truth?'

'I did. No one believed me, and they weren't gonna risk their lives to see the evidence.'

'Why isn't Gliscor a wandering spirit?'

'Because he isn't going to be with Arceus. He's with Darkrai. For his sins of greed and envy.'

'Alright. We'll give you a burial.'

'Thank you. I am in your debt.'

'I only ask one thing. If Arceus has a bar, save us a seat.'

'*Chuckles* I will.'

Jack and Elise carried the skeleton outside and buried it deep under the snow so it would never be uncovered by the wind. Before Z could thank them again, he vanished.

'Come on Elise. Let's get out of here.'

'I couldn't agree more.'

They spent another day and a half getting out of the cave.

After 3 and a half days of constant walking, they finally returned home.


	18. Life is Cruel

When Elise and Jack returned they sent a letter to The Federation stating that Dusk had been "taken care off." That was it.

They didn't get anything back so they assumed that was all they needed to hear.

A few days passed as they continued their string of success.

Finally they got something unexpected in the mail.

Jack read it aloud to Elise because she had trouble gripping things with her small arms.

'"Jack and Elise,

You have served The Federation well. Due to your willingness to give up your free time for this cause, we nearby promote you to full fledged members of The Federation. This includes a 3,000 Poke reward, a set of berries, and a monthly salary. Now instead of getting money based solely on the mission rewards, you also get a payment that will either increase or decrease depending on how many missions you complete. This job also comes with 1 month of paid rest and having your team's name entered in The Federation's monthly drawing. Every team has their name entered once automatically, and once for each mission they complete. Prizes vary from rest time to gourmet foods. On the topic of names, you'll need a team name now that you are official members. Also, you will no longer receive free food from our "care packages." That is restricted to volunteers as they need it since they don't get paid.

Enclosed in this letter you'll find your reward, a pair of official badges, a pair of radios should you ever need to contact each other or us directly, HQ is channel 0, and finally, a template for you to register your team name.

One last thing, until you register your name, you cannot embark on missions, so you will have 1 week of paid rest off while we authenticate your name.

Congratulations,

Federation Leader,

HR"'

'Amazing! Jack we're official explorers now!'

'What should we name our team?'

'I don't know! I'm too happy to think!'

'Well you stay here and calm down. I'm gonna go shopping. I've been thinking about getting a cauldron in here, but now we can afford it.'

'A cauldron?'

'Um, hello. Broom like tail, long one-piece robe, wand. I'm like a witch. I've got lots of "concoctions" I'd like to try out.'

'I'll remove anything flammable.'

'You do that.'

Jack left to go spend some of the 3,000 Poke they earned.

On the way there, again he heard the voice of the seller. This time however, he sounded dangerous.

'This is your last chance Jack. Either resume business with me or you'll regret it.'

'Don't make me kill you.'

Jack started reaching into his robe to retrieve his wand.

'Well, don't say I didn't warn you. Now!'

THUNK!

Thud.

Jack collapsed.


	19. Three Months of Hell

When Jack awoke, he was in a very dark room. Only a single candle to his left lit the area.

The back of his head felt really sore, so he moved his right hand to rub it.

Clink clink.

He stopped.

He looked at his hands.

Both hand had chains connecting to the wall he was leaning against.

He also had one chain on his neck connected by a collar.

He began to panic.

'I warned you didn't I?'

Jack looked up to see several pairs of eyes watching him from the shadows. Behind steel bars.

'What are you gonna do? Kill me?'

'Oh no. We are really missing you as a business partner, but we want to be on your good side. So we are giving you our product for free. Whether you like it or not.'

A Zoroark unlocks the cage and steps into the small light holding a needle.

'Don't get me wrong, I'd rather slowly bleed you, but boss says to do it this way.'

Jack recognized this Zoroark from his visions in the Dark Realms.

'Get away from me you sick fuck!'

'My my, what horrible language you have. Here, this should help you relax.'

In a panic, Jack forgot he could shoot fire from his mouth. He was too used to using his wand, which he could no longer reach.

Jack felt the needle enter his flesh, and whatever was inside enter his bloodstream.

Almost immediately his pupils dilated to almost cover his irises, he starts shaking, and he tries to attack the Zoroark, but he was out of reach by now.

'Pleasure doing business with you.'

Jack struggled heavily against the chains for hours, in a blind drug induced rage.

Just when he began to calm down, the Zoroark returned with another needle.

Again Jack was injected with drugs, and again, he went berserk.

He was kept awake nonstop. When he was given food and water he was almost fully immobilized and had it poured down his throat.

The few times he wasn't full of drugs, he wasn't himself.

The drugs were doing something to him.

After 7 days of no sleep and constant drug injection, Jack was released from the chains around his wrists, but the one around his neck was lengthened so he could walk around.

It was here an obvious physical change began to occur.

Jack walked on 4 legs just as much as he walked on 2.

He seemed to be going feral.

As the days began to wear on, Jack became more and more violent, until the Zoroark returned with a twisted grin on his face.

Jack turned his head towards him and growled.

'Oooooh I'm so scared.'

The Zoroark unlocked the cage and stepped in, deliberately stopping at a point.

Jack lunged for him teeth first, but the chain on his neck was just too short.

'You're so feisty. Well I'm gonna take care of that. The best discipline, is pain, and you're in the perfect kicking position.'

The Zoroark struck Jack with his foot, clawed toes first.

They easily pierced Jack's skin and left 3 holes in his shoulder.

Jack whimpered a bit before resuming his struggle.

The Zoroark then began beating Jack into submission.

With each blow, Jack struggled less and less. He was bloodied, and out of his skull on drugs.

Finally, Jack simply laid down and stopped fighting, but the beating continued for 10 minutes afterwards.

When the Zoroark finally stopped, Jack felt submissive. The fox in front of him had proven himself superior.

The Zoroark had also quite clearly demonstrated what happens to the disobedient.

Jack bowed his head and whimpered.

'Heh. You're worthless.'

The Zoroark spits on him and leaves.

Jack just whined.

The next time he was conscious and not drugged up he panicked.

He remembered everything.

What was happening to him? Why was he become more and more feral? What were they doing to him? What was their end goal? How long would it take?

1 month into his capture, and he began to think he was gonna be beyond help if he wasn't rescued now!

He began clawing out his fur in fits of rage whether he was drugged or not. His sanity was slipping fast.

After 2 months, he was nearly destroyed mentally. One of the few times he was in what could be called control, he showed just how far gone he was.

He was laying in the center of the room, staring at the ceiling, laying motionless.

Eventually he began to sing softly to himself, not a bad thing, but it was what he was singing.

'In this solemn field of silence. I can barely feel the pain. Blind and deaf to all the violence. And I've always felt this way. Laaaaaaaa. Laaaaaaa. Laaaaaaaa. Laaaaaaaaaaa. On the wind a smell of misery. Fear and death perfume the air. It begins again in mystery. And I always end up there. Always unsuspecting, so easy to lure them away from, all the angels within. I am, letting go of all I know. From this buried well of consciousness. I can barely hear the rain. Everyone becomes anonymous. All their faces seem the same. Always unrelenting. Descending into our own nightmare. From this twisted fantasy. Falling far away from, the beauty of annihilation. Do the faceless face fear? I've become, something they all run from. They want me to begone, but I've only just begun. Why am I numb? To everything I have done. There's no going back for me. Becoming has taken its toll on me. I am running from, the other ones, and the other ones, I'm running from, and becoming one means in running from, all I am.'

The mysterious Pokemon watching from the shadows grinned. He was almost broken. Just a few more days and he'd be lost.

2.5 months into his capture, and Jack finally lost his mind. He was completely feral and never spoke with words. Just growls, whines, or whimpers.

'Is there any of his old self left in there?'

'Doubt it. He's been on drugs constantly for so long his mind is fucked.'

'How long until we can… change him?'

'Just a couple weeks and it'll be ready. It takes a lot of energy you know.'

'How many Dark Types have we drained so far?'

'Maybe 12. Give or take.'

'Good. Continue your work here. I'd like to see him when he's been… activated.'

'You got it boss.'

After 3 months of being chained like a wild animal, and eventually turning into one, Jack's stay was almost complete.

The Zoroark came into his cell to take him to… wherever.

Jack bowed his head. He recognized the Zoroark as more powerful, and therefore never showed resistance to him.

Jack was lead by chain to a sort of circular chamber. It was grey, and bleak.

The chain was taken off of Jack's neck.

He was startled for a moment. He had that thing on for so long he forgot what it felt like without it.

However this hesitation ended when the Zoroark pushed him into the room.

He stepped into the room and was soon shut in.

He looked around for a few minutes. Eventually he started pacing. What was taking so long?

(Scene change… behind the one way glass that lined the room…)

A Dusknoir turns some switches and pulls some levers. The door behind him opens and the Zoroark steps in.

'Boss is gettin impatient. What's the hold up?'

'The damn batteries are shorted. Had to go change them. Plus the core needs time to warm up. We should be ready soon.'

'How long?'

'3 minutes maybe.'

'Don't disappoint.'

SLAM!

'So insufferable.'

After the 3 minutes, all the lights on his panel turned green.

He grabbed a the speaker and pressed the button under it.

'This is control. We are ready to begin on your order boss.'

A voice responds.

'Do it.'

The Dusknoir flips open a lid and presses the button underneath it.

Back in the chamber, a whirring sound can be heard.

It gets louder and louder until Jack has to try and cover his ears.

Quite a futile action considering how large they are.

KUNKrrrrrr.

KUNKrrrrrr.

The room pulses.

KUNKrrrrrr.

KUNKrrrrrr.

The walls pulse is now visible as a dark wave of energy.

KUNKrrrrrrr.

KUNKrrrrrr.

Now Jack can feel the pulse. It hurts him.

KUNKrrrrrr.

KUNKrrrrrr.

Jack looks at himself as the pulse continues.

With every plus, his yellow fur seemed to get darker, and his red fur began to lose its color.

KUNKrrrrrrr.

KUNKrrrrrr.

His yellow fur is almost as red as his red fur used to be, and his red fur is almost pure black.

Back in the control room.

'Just a few more seconds.'

KUNKrrrrrr.

KUNKrrrrrCRASH!

'The hell was that?'

'Control this is the pulse room, the machine has malfunctioned. We're looking into it now.'

'Keep me posted.'

The Dusknoir looks at Jack while he waits.

'Almost done. Just 1 or 2 more pulses and he's finished. We'll have won.'

'Control this is the pulse room, we're hearing some strange sounds. We feel like there may be someone else in hmmmmmpf!'

'Pulse room what's going on?'

'He's still got his hand on the button! Fry it!'

A crackling sound comes over the speaker before it falls silent.

'Who is trying to stop us? *Presses button* This is control. All fighters to the pulse room. We have intruders. *Releases button* You're not saving. We will stop you.'


	20. Up in Flames

An alarm rang through the complex, and Jack perked his ears up.

"What is noise? Is there danger? Where is alpha? He take care of it. Must find alpha."

Jack started clawing at the glass walls.

"Can't get out. Must not stop. Danger nearby. Alpha need to know."

Soon, Jack's claws made the glass give. He ended up in the control room.

The Dusknoir stared at him for a few seconds.

'Red alert! Subject has escaped! Requesting assistance! I'll try and keep him contained!'

"You not alpha. Must keep going."

Jack made for the door, but the Dusknoir blocked him.

He growled at him to back off.

The Ghost Type refused to move.

Jack snarled and lunged for him. Sinking his sharp teeth into its neck.

The Dusknoir screamed in pain as Jack began to pull back whilst still biting. Tearing the wound and eventually ripping a chunk of flesh clean off.

Jack swallowed it and growled again. This time the Dusknoir moved away. Trying to stop the blood loss.

Jack raced down the corridors. Sniffing for the Zoroark he called alpha.

It was during this time he came across a familiar scent.

His mind knew this smell, but it seemed like he had only come across it a lifetime ago.

His mind went from urgency, to curiosity.

Who did he know that had this scent?

He couldn't think of them, not surprising given the state of his mind, and decided to follow the trail.

While he was following it, he detected a second scent. This one totally foreign, but the first scent seemed to travel with it as though the pair were working together. He went on high alert as he continued on.

Eventually he heard sounds of a struggle behind one of the doors. He knew very little of his past self, but he still knew how to work doors.

He opened it and saw the pair that he was following.

One being a Serperior, and the source of the familiar scent, and the other a Heatran.

The Serperior was constricting a Sableye.

'Where is Jack?'

'I refuse.'

'WHERE IS HE!?'

'I respectfully refuse to tell you.'

'I am gonna ask you one last time, and if you still respectfully refuse I will tighten the coils to the point that will break your bones and burst your blood vessels before you die. Where is Jack?'

'FUCK YOU, AND YOUR DOG!'

True to her word, the Serperior then crushed the Sableye to death.

'Waste of time.'

'He can't be far, we need to keep moving.'

'You're right.'

The room only had one door, and Jack was standing in it. When the pair turned to exit, they saw him.

'*Gasps* J-Jack?'

"How she know me? Is she mate?"

Jack simply stares.

'It's him. It's a Delphox taken by mysterious means. It must be him.'

The Serperior comes up and hugs him.

'Oh Jack. What have they done to you?'

'So this is where it's been happening.'

'What do you mean?'

'We've had a number of Pokemon go missing. It's not unusual, but rarely, we get reports of Pokemon simply vanishing without a trace. No plans to visit a dungeon, no plans to travel, they just up and disappear. The one thing all the cases have in common, is that a few months later, the Pokemon reappears. Just different. They typically have darker fur, skin, scales, whatever, and they seem feral. I believe this is what has happened to poor Jack here.'

'Is there any way to fix him?'

'Technically yes, but it's far from guaranteed to work. If it doesn't work, we'll have to put him down for the safety of the civilians.'

'How often does this work?'

'1/10 times, however, we interrupted the process, so it may be easier to get him back to quote unquote normal.'

'Quote unquote normal?'

'He'll never be 100% normal again. We can give him his mind back if we are lucky, but we can't undo the damage to his body. His fur will stay as it is, his Typing may have changed to a Fire/Dark or Dark/Psychic, and he'll never be as… with it, as he used to be.'

'Do whatever you can to save him sir. I need him by my side.'

'We'll do the best we can, but it may not be enough. I do apologize for this Jack, but we can't take any risks.'

THUMP!

The Heatran knocks Jack upside the head and knocks him out.

'I'll carry him. Keep me covered Elise.'

The Heatran slings Jack on his back, and starts to head for the door.

Elise follows closely, watching the corners and shadows for anyone gutsy enough to attack them.

However, the area had been evacuated after Jack escaped, and they never encountered another foe.

The Heatran sets Jack down on the grass and looks back.

'No wonder we couldn't find this place. It's totally underground in the middle of a dense forest.'

The only thing visible of the massive complex was a camouflaged trapdoor, other than that, it was completely hidden.

The Heatran grabbed his radio and called The Federation.

'Federation HQ this is Leader Heatran, send in a search team to Dusk Forest. We found where the Dark Pokemon are coming from.'

'Understood. What are they looking for?'

'Deep in the forest is a hidden trapdoor that leads to a massive underground comp-'

BOOOOOOOOOM!

Elise and Heatran are thrown off their feet.

'SHIT! WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED!?'

'Heatran what's going on!? What was that sound?!'

The complex had exploded, and lava was welling up from the trapdoor.

Heatran had dropped his radio, and it was disintegrated by the lava.

'THE COMPLEX EXPLODED! LAVA IS COMING OUT! WE HAVE TO GO NOW!'

Heatran grabbed Jack and they began to run for it.

The explosion was so powerful much of the surrounding forest was set ablaze. Trees were burning and starting to weaken.

'WATCH THE TREES ELISE!'

As they ran, smoke filled the sky, and blocked out the sun. Painting the sky crimson and gold.


	21. Finally Saved

Heatran and Elise were in a desperate race for survival. The forest around them burned, and behind them lava was on their tails.

Whilst the fire and lava couldn't outright kill Heatran, they'd still hurt like a bitch, and Jack may still be a Fire Type if they're lucky and his Pyschic Typing was replaced with Dark, but he could certainly be killed by lava.

'Elise toss me your radio!'

Elise throws her radio to Heatran.

'HQ this is Leader Heatran, send all firefighters available to Dusk Forest right now!'

'Heatran what the hell is happening!? I've been trying to reach you since you stopped talking!'

'My radio got fried by lava! We have the package but the place was rigged to blow! There's lava and fire everywhere! We need help now!'

'Understood. I'll dispatch all available firefighters to you via Flying Type transport. Give them 5 minutes.'

'No promises!'

As they were running, a massive tree began to fall, and Elise was directly in its path.

'ELISE LOOK OUT!'

Heatran jumped forwards and shoved Elise out of the burning tree's way. He also threw Jack off of him as he knew he wouldn't be able to get out of it's way himself now.

THUMP!

A cloud of ashes and embers flew up, and when they cleared, Heatran was firmly pinned under the tree.

'HEATRAN! *Elise dashed over to him* Hang on, I'll get you out of this!'

Elise used her rather weak arms to try and lift the tree off, but it was an exercise in futility, and as a Grass Type, all she succeeded in doing was badly burn her arms.

'Forget about me. The fire and lava can't kill me. It'll hurt, but I'll survive. You and Jack can't survive direct contact with lava and fire. Grab him and get out of here.'

'But-'

CRASH!

Another large tree nearly crushed Elise.

'GO!'

Elise grabbed Jack with her burned arms and through sheer adrenaline, managed to pick him up despite her burns.

She fled as fast as she could, but with Jack weighing her down, she just wasn't going fast enough.

They had a long dry spell as of late, and the trees caught fire the second fire even touched them, and when they burned, they burned hot.

Elise felt the fire begin to lick her tail, and she tried to speed up.

Her mind began to race, trying to think of some way to escape.

"I can't outrun it, not like this, but Jack's unconscious. This is the best I can do. There's nothing for me to use either. I don't have time for this."

As Elise was about to accept their fate, a clearing appeared in front of her. There wasn't any water, but there weren't any trees which would slow the fire down.

Elise stopped at the middle of the clearing and set Jack down gently.

She tried to catch her breath, but there was too much smoke, and although there wasn't enough to kill her, she wouldn't be able to regulate her breathing any time soon.

Just 30 seconds after she stopped, she looked back to see the fire approaching, slower, but approaching nonetheless by burning the grass.

She picked Jack up again and started to move, only to freeze a moment later.

The trees surrounding the clearing had caught fire and trapped them. There was no way out, and the fire was closing in from all sides.

"So this is it? We die here? Now?"

Elise set Jack down and closed her eyes. She had resigned herself to her death.

She waited for the burning sensation that was to follow.

Yet it never came.

In its place was several gallons of water begin dumped on her head, and it felt so good.

She opened her eyes and looked up.

She saw several Flying Types taking off, and around her she heard footsteps, and when she scanned her surroundings, she was greeted by no less than 50 Water Types.

One of them, a Samurott, was giving orders to the others, apparently the leader, before he came to Elise.

'You two ok?'

'Thanks to you guys we are.'

'Where's Heatran?'

'He's a few hundred yards that way trapped under a tree. Said the fire and lava can't kill him so I should just leave him.'

'Understood.'

The Samurott took one of the armor plates off its forepaw and spoke into it. It apparently had a radio in it.

'The is Samurott, I have a pair of survivors here, they're in pretty bad shape and need medical attention fast so send in the Eon Twins to the drop zone, Jet Mode.'

'Copy that. They've been on standby since the call came in from Heatran. ETA 45 seconds.'

'Thank you.'

The Samurott returns to his fellow firefighters and starts to combat the inferno.

Just 40 seconds later, a screeching sound is heard, and Latias and Latios, in their Mega Forms, scream overhead before reversing course and landing in the clearing.

Latias speaks to Elise as Latios picks up Jack in his claws.

'Need a lift? *Elise nods* Well hang on, this is gonna be fast.'

Elise, being conscious, climbed onto Latias' back. The powerful Dragon didn't seem the least bit bothered by the 10 foot snake weighing her down.

They began to lift off vertically, and stopped midair for just a second.

'Hold on tight.'

BOOOOOOM!

The pair of Latis rocketed forwards and shattered the sound barrier with ease. Elise coiled around Latias and held on for dear life, but Latias didn't even seem to notice.

Soon after they started, the pair slowed down and landed at a massive fortress of a building. Waiting for them were a pair of medical teams. One lead by a Chansey, the other by an Audino.

Jack was given to the Chansey whilst Elise was handed over to the Audino. Who promptly listens to Elise's heart.

'Her heart beat is dangerously fast, sedate her to be safe. Sorry sweetie, but this is for your own good.'

Elise felt the prick of the needle, and soon went to sleep.


	22. One Body, Two Souls

After Elise and Jack were treated for burns, Jack was taken to a room with no windows and only 1 way in or out. The metallic grey walls eerily similar to the last grey room Jack was in.

When he came too, he got on all fours and looked around. He spotted a Gardevoir standing in the middle of the room, but she was different.

Her white dress was black, and all the normally green color was as red as the gem in her chest.

"Who she?"

"I am here to help?"

Jack looked around for the voice.

"Don't be alarmed. I'm speaking to you with telepathy."

"Why am I here?"

"You've been… corrupted by darkness. Pure, unfiltered darkness. Just like I once was. However I was able to resist. Now I help corrupted Pokemon like you become at least close to normal."

"Will this hurt?"

"Horribly."

"Make it fast."

"I'll do the best I can."

"I'm ready."

"Let us begin."

Pain flooded Jack's body as the Gardevoir used her Psychic Abilities with her Dark Typing to forcefully enter Jack's mind.

Jack collapsed and started writhing on the ground.

"I know it hurts, just endure it."

"What are you doing to me!?"

"I'm trying to destroy as much darkness as I can, but it's not going without a fight."

The Gardevoir continued attacking the darkness, but something made her pause for a moment.

"But, that's impossible."

"What is?"

"I'll explain when I'm done. I need to focus."

Jack's very soul was in pain. He felt like he was going to black out, but he was simply unable to.

"I need you awake for this. I can't let you fall asleep on me."

Jack felt like he was about to die, he was actually bringing one of his claws up to slash his neck and end the pain, when suddenly, it just stopped.

'Jack. Can you understand me now?'

'I can.'

'Phew. Almost thought I was gonna fail on ya for a second.'

'How did I get here?'

'You were corrupted by darkness. Elise and our leader Heatran saved you but the facility you were held in was rigged to blow. The surrounding forest was set ablaze and both you and Elise had to be air rushed to the hospital here for treatment.'

'Did you get rid of the darkness?'

'Not all of it. There is too much to safely remove without killing you.'

'So that's why my fur is still… off.'

'That and one of your typings has changed to Dark.'

'I don't understand how they did it.'

'None of us do. We were hoping we could find out since we had taken the facility, but it was rigged to blow. We're back to square one.'

'You said it was impossible. What was impossible?'

'The reason that Gardevoirs are such successful Psychics is that we don't look through your mind we look through your very soul. Your very essence of being.'

'And that correlates how?'

'When I was battling the darkness in your soul, something caught my attention. I found another soul.'

'I don't understand.'

'There are two souls in your body, which shouldn't be possible, especially for a mortal. Yet somehow your body harbors two different… people we'll say. One was that of a warrior. Someone who is serious and no nonsense. The other soul was that of a goofball. A joker. It just doesn't make sense.'

'I do have both of those characteristics. When it's time to do a mission I let nothing get in my way, but when it's time to unwind, I'm carefree and an off duty comedian.'

'Many people have personalities like that, but they have one soul. You have a different "person" inside you. However, for now you are free to go. I need to do some research.'

'Uh, I have no idea where I am.'

'You're in The Federation HQ. It's quite large so we have signs everywhere. Just pick a place you wanna go and follow them.'

'Ok, and… thank you.'

'Just doing my job.'

Jack leaves the room and looks for signs pointing to the hospital or medical wing. He wanted to see Elise.

Eventually he finds his way.

He speaks to a female Pachirisu nurse at the counter.

'Oh! You're back to… well normalish.'

'Yes. Is Elise still here?'

'The Serperior?'

'She was a Servine last I remember seeing her, but probably.'

'Ok follow me.'

The small rodent was full of cheerful energy and it actually made Jack smile.

He followed her until they reached a room marked 3-2.

The Pachirisu cracks the door, the doors had handles at different heights so that anyone could open them.

'Doctor, may we come in?'

'You may.'

When they enter, an Alakazam dressed in medical garbs greets them.

'How is she?'

'3rd degree burns on her arms, 2nd degree burns on her tail, and 1st degree burns most everywhere else, but she's a fighter, she'll live. She should be back on her… well, not feet, but you get the idea, in a few days, but she won't be able to use her arms for a bit.'

'Is she awake?'

'She is conscious. She's was in substantial pain so she's drugged up on morphine.'

Jack's mind goes into panic mode.

"Morphine? That's what they gave the guy in Saving Private Ryan right before he died!"

'She'll live though?'

'Yes, she will live. Don't worry. Morphine is just a pain killer. Pain itself can't kill you, but it isn't exactly comfortable.'

'Ok. I've noticed speakers all throughout this place. Can you call me back when she is back to normal?'

'You're Jack correct?'

'Yes.'

'Got it. I'll do that. I can tell you two are very close.'

'I do have feelings for her.'

'I understand completely.'

Back with the Gardevoir…

She is currently in the library. She is looking through one specific book with no title or design on the cover.

'Here we go. That's what I was looking for.'

She reads aloud.

'"One body, two souls, three people. Ashes to ashes, dust to dust. From dust we came, and to dust we shall return without their help. Only they can live between push and pull." But what does it mean?'


	23. What's the Plan?

**The length and title of this chapter are for a reason. And that reason is… I have absolutely no clue as to where I go from here. I never thought I'd actually get this far before losing interest. I'm out of ideas and I need some time to think. Hopefully this will put the story in a place I can work from.**

Unknown Location…

The room is pitch black, when a door opens and the Zoroark from the facility enters.

'You requested my presence Boss?'

'Yes. I want to know about the Delphox who escaped. What have you found out?'

'Jack is his name. He's close partners with a Serperior named Elise. They're both new members of The Federation. Jack is a very troubled, yet strong willed person. When he sets his mind to something, come hell, high water, or both, he's gonna do it. He's very naïve though, and can be talked into doing a lot of things that he'd be better off ignoring.'

'Well that's all well and good, but what of the rumors?'

'Boss, surely you don't believe-'

'It is not your business of what I do or do not believe. What of the rumors?'

'The rumors say he is the one we are after. I don't believe it though. He was too easy to capture.'

'He was also the only one to escape before we finished.'

'I suppose that's true… but still-'

'Dismissed.'

'Yes boss.'

The Zoroark turns around and leaves.

'I'll have to see what our informant in The Federation says.'

One can hear the sound of a button being pressed.

'Begin Phase 1.'

'You got it boss.'

As the button is released, the sole occupant of the room goes quiet for a bit, before finally speaking.

'Things just got interesting.'

(Scene Change… Federation HQ…)

Jack wandered the complex searching for the mess hall. He was quite hungry.

As he walked people would pause from their conversations and simply… stare.

Some stares were full of pity, some confusion, some sadness, and even a few angry.

Jack took out his wand and began spinning it like a rotisary stick on his fingers. It was a nervous tick he picked up as a Braixen.

He opened the doors to the mess hall and everyone who was eating stopped and looked at him.

It was too awkward.

'What? Is there something you'd like to say?'

'You're a Darkling.'

'A what?'

A Froslass rose from where she was sitting and came over to Jack.

'"Darkling" is the nickname for those who have been altered by darkness. The Gardevoir who saved you is also a Darkling as you can guess by now.'

'What's your name?'

'Shul. My name is Shul.'

'Well Shul, thank you for the explanation. Now can you tell the others it's impolite to stare?'

'They know, but they're too **inconsiderate** , to care.'

After hearing Shul's stress of inconsiderate, most of the Pokemon returned to their meals.


	24. Filler, because I can't think of a title

'Would the Delphox Jack please come to the jury room? Jack to the jury room.'

Jack lifted an eyebrow. Why?

'You should get going.'

The Froslass Shul was the one to speak.

'I didn't even get to eat.'

'It happens. Don't keep them waiting.'

Jack walked and followed the signs until he found the jury room. The doors were shut so he knocked.

'Come in.'

Jack opened the door to see Heatran.

'You look familiar. Have we met?'

'Kinda. You weren't in your right mind when we did.'

'What am I here for?'

Heatran placed a device in front of Jack.

He then pressed a button with a triangle on it.

'This device with capture sounds and repeat them when we want.'

'My question remains.'

'What do you remember of your capture, and everything before you woke up here?'

'I spoke to a Pokemon who always was in the shadows, he was the reason I got hooked on things like alcohol and cigarettes. I told him previously that I was done with him, but when I met him again, he insisted I buy from him again. I refused and I was knocked out. When I came to, I was chained up in a cell. Only a small candle was my source of light. A Zoroark came in and injected me with something that caused me to forget what followed. I can't remember anything from until finally there was a period of time I remembered. I began to walk on all fours more often, they had recently unchained my arms but had left one around my neck. The next thing I remember besides darkness and boredom is pain. I wasn't in my right mind, but I can faintly remember the Zoroark beating the hell out of me. After that, sane or not, I never disobeyed him again. It was as if I couldn't refuse him. Like he was my alpha or something. After that all I remember is darkness. Endless darkness that feels like it will swallow me up when I try to peer in.'

'I see… *Presses a button with two parallel lines* thank you Jack. This information could prove useful. You may go.'

Jack walked out and went to return to the mess hall to eat.

He reached the door and was about to open it when,

'Would the Delphox Jack report to Gardevoir's chambers? Jack to Gardevoir's chambers.'

'Fuuuuuuck.'

Jack turned around and returned to the Gardevoir Darkling.

'You wished to see me?'

'Yes. I want to know, have your actions ever felt like they belonged to someone else?'

'No, but at times I've felt pulls to certain actions. As if someone is trying to guide me from the shadows.'

'I see. *Writes on a paper* That's all I needed, sorry to disturb you.'

'It's fine.'

Jack left and attempted to return to the mess hall.

He placed his paw on the door.

'Third time's the charm?'

'Would the Delphox Jack please report to the hospital? Your partner is awake. Jack to the hospital.'

'DAMMIT! Though I supposed I asked for that one.'

So Jack turned back around and walked to the hospital.

'Im here to see Elise.'

'Go on in. You know where she is.'

Jack walked to room 3-2. He opened the door and sitting in bed was Elise. She was fully aware and the only thing was that her arms were bandaged.

'Hey Elise. It's been a while.'

'Yeah. It has.'

'… You saved my life.'

'I just wish I could've gotten there sooner. Looking at your reminds me I was too slow.'

'Don't do that! You did the best you could!'

'Yeah but-'

'ZIP! No excuses!'

'But… I killed those guys.'

'BECAUSE THEY WANTED TO MAKE ME BAD! DONT YOU GET IT!? *Grabs Elise* You saved my life! This is about survival! Understand?'

'Yeah.'

'Good.'

'So what did they do to you? If you want to talk about it that is.'

Jack explains what happened. From him encountering the "salesman," to meeting the Gardevoir Darkling.

'… Wow… just, wow.'

'Yeah I know.'

'Why would they do that? What's their motivation?'

'I'm not quite sure I wanna know. *Stomach growls* What I DO know is that I'm hungry. See ya later Elise, and, thank you.'

'Anytime.'


	25. Persecution

When Jack returned to the mess hall, Shul was waiting for him.

'Ive heard some people talking. Some of them think you're the fated one. The one with two souls. Is this true?'

'Thats what the Gardevoir told me.'

'Really?! This is great! You can save us!'

'From what?'

'Something has been plaguing this world. The very being who has made the Darklings. Whoever is in charge of them, is corrupting the entire world. They need to be brought to justice.'

'I see. No pressure or anything.'

'Haha. Oh? SHOOT! Sorry but I forgot something!'

Shul leaves.

'Finally I can eat.'

Jack grabbed some food and finally sat down and started to eat.

*Mic reverb*

Everyone paused.

*Static*

Everyone turned to the television screen above the buffet.

An image appeared on screen of a Granbull and a Zoroark. The same one from Jack's capture.

'We interrupt your regularly scheduled programming for this worldwide broadcast. My boss wishes to give a message.'

'In the past century, there have been many plots that have nearly destroyed this world. Most if not all of them were started by Dark Types. Dark Types are inherently more vulnerable to evil than any other Type. In accordance with the law, I am warning of the attacks I am about to do. In an effort to limit the number of apocalypse causing plots, I am launching a campaign to end all Dark Types.'

'If you want to avoid such a fate, you must swear your loyalty to my boss.'

'Yeah, about that.'

In an instant, the Granbull bends the Zoroark forwards and jams a knife in his neck. Killing him instantly.

'No Dark Type will be allowed to live. Even these Darklings who aren't natural born Dark Types. Any and all Dark Type or Darkling sympathizers will also be eliminated. I am sorry about all the lives that will be ended, but it's for the greater good.'

The screen goes black before it returns to a news station. The Houndoom and Arcanine reporters stand there stunned.

'Cut the recording.'

The screen goes black.

No one moves, until all eyes eventually end up on all the Dark Types in the room, including Jack.

'This is insanity! He's gonna murder us for this we had nothing to do with!'

An Umbreon openly announced his anger.

'He has a point. Dark Types do tend to be the bad guys when things go horribly wrong.'

'I don't give a shit!'

'Well I do. Perhaps you Dark Types should leave. I don't want to be killed for withholding information when they get here.'

'You… YOU… YOU BASTARD!'

The Umbreon attacks the Pokemon who said that. Instantly everyone grabs a partner and starts fighting over what they should do.

Jack simply observes the chaos, shakes his head in disbelief, and continues eating.

After he finished, the arguements and minor fights had all turned into an all out brawl. Pokemon were bloodied and unconscious on the floor and many were injured, but no one was stopping. It was mass hysteria, nothing was gonna stop it until everyone burned themselves out.

Jack calmly stood up, threw away his trash, and left.

Outside the mess hall, the commotion had spread throughout The Federation's halls. Very few Pokemon were not fighting. Those that weren't were cowering in a corner.

Jack simply ignores them and heads to the hospital.

This was one of the few quiet places in the complex.

'Jack! What the hell is going on!? Everyone's gone crazy!'

The nurse was having a full blown panic attack.

'It's psychological warfare. They're trying to isolate the people who are and support Dark Types so they'll be easy prey.'

'But why did everyone start fighting so quickly?'

'It's because people are fucking cowards! Today it's, "you can't say this, you can't say that, you have freedom of speech but you can't say anything that offends anyone." No one says anything offensive anymore, and that means no one has the thick skin that allows you to let the insults slide. Everyone is too fucking sensitive! They say to tell the truth, but when you do, everyone gets offended. It makes the world one big tinderbox that's been doused with gasoline. All it needs is one person to strike a flint and it all goes up in flames.'

'… That… that can't be right! When everyone is nice things like this don't happen!'

'When everyone is nice, all it takes is one asshole to turn all the nice people into assholes themselves.'

'I… I need to sit down.'

Jack walks past the nurse and goes to see Elise.

'Jack we need to get out of here! Everyone's lost it!'

'Yep. We are leaving right now. Come on.'

Jack helps Elise get up and they promptly leave The Federation behind.


	26. Into Hiding

As Jack and Elise left The Federation, someone had decided that instead of fighting, they should leave while things cool down.

It was Shul.

'JACK WAIT UP!'

Jack turned around, saw Shul, and instantly whipped out his wand. He set the end on fire and pointed it towards her.

'STOP RIGHT THERE!'

'Woah! Don't tell me you've gone crazy too?'

'Jack who is this?'

'This is Shul. She and I spoke a few times in the mess hall.'

'Yeah I helped him realize that he's here to save us.'

'So why are you threatening her?'

'Because I don't trust her.'

'Jack, strength in numbers right?'

'Elise, that may be true, but if you don't trust your numbers, it just makes things worse.'

'Answer me this. Why don't you trust me?'

'I don't give out my trust easily very often. I had to give it to Elise because I had no idea what was going on, but even then I didn't fully trust her. It was only after she proved her trust in me that I grew to tell her everything. We've spoke to each other TWICE! I have no reason to give you my trust. As much as I disagree everyone in there, they do have one thing right. You can't count on random people to have your back. You have to pick one person at a time and work with them. In times like these, distrust is one of your greatest allies, as is its brother. Caution. I don't trust you, so I'm gonna be cautious and if need be, violent around you.'

'What have I done to deserve this?'

'Right before the announcement came out, you mysteriously left after forgetting you had to do something. Very suspicious I'm sure you'll agree. What were you doing?'

'A friend of mine was about to retire and I wanted to send them off.'

'… I don't buy it. Leave us alone.'

'Jack you're being paranoid.'

'Here's a quote by me. Just because you aren't paranoid, doesn't mean they aren't after you.'

'Jack be reasonable here.'

The Froslass tries to get closer, but Jack sends out a warning in the shape of an Ember attack.

'If you don't turn around and leave in the next 10 seconds I'll fry you.'

Shul seems shocked, but after a moment of hesitation, she decides it's not worth the risk.

'Good luck Jack.'

Jack extinguishes the flame and puts the wand back in his robe.

'You too, but if I find out you're following us, you won't have to worry about safety, because I will PERSONALLY, end you. Elise, we are leaving.'

'Sorry about him Shul.'

'Good luck with him Elise.'

They leave Shul behind.

'Jack are you sure you're not just overreacting a bit?'

'If it helps get my point across, I'll react as much as I want.'

'You know Jack, you can be a bit of a dick at times.'

'Didn't bother me when my dad said it, doesn't bother me when you say it.'

'*Sighs* Let's just find some form of map. I lost it during the forest fire, along with our bag.'

'You do realize that since we don't have any money, we're gonna have to steal it right?'

'Dont remind me.'

They entered the nearby town and went to visit the Kecleon clerk.

'Oh! New customers! How may I help you?'

Elise found it odd he didn't question Jack's odd coloration.

Jack however, took action.

He whipped out his wand and lit it on fire again.

'GET OUT OF THE FUCKING BOOTH!'

'OK OK!'

'HURRY UP! IM NOT FUCKING AROUND HERE!'

'DONT KILL ME!'

'NOW GET ON THE FUCKING GROUND AND LAY FACE DOWN!'

'JACK!'

'QUIET! THIS IS OUR ONLY CHOICE AND YOU KNOW IT! IF THIS PRICK TRIES TO RUN KILL HIM!'

Jack jumps into the store and loots it.

'YOU SAW NOTHING!'

'I SAW NOTHING!'

Jack and Elise quickly leave.

They stop in the middle of a dense forest.

'What the hell was that?! Have you lost your mind!?'

'I told you we'd have to steal. I don't do things half assed.'

'You scared the poor guy to death.'

'He'll live. Besides I got some good stuff.'

Jack opened a new bag and took out several items. Mainly food, but also a map and seeds.

'Jack this is crazy.'

'When push comes to shove, we push back.'

'I approve of the message, so I'll ignore the delivery.'

Jack and Elise found a cave to rest in before nightfall. It went back about 50 feet and varied from 10-15 feet across. After making sure it was empty, they decided to make it their new base of operations. Here they would wait out whatever was coming.

That was the plan anyways.

Just 3 days after they found the cave, they heard footsteps. Lots of footsteps.

It was just past dawn when they decided to investigate.

They decided to climb a pair of tall trees to get a good vantage point, and better concealment.

When they reached the top, they saw a large number of Fighting Types, Fairy Types, and Bug Types. There were also Steel Types and Rock Types. They were all heading for The Federation.

The trees were very tall, but they were quite close together, so Jack and Elise could still talk without being seen or heard.

'Damn. This person isn't fucking around.'

'Jack… all those Pokemon. All those poor Dark Types. They'll be slaughtered.'

'There's nothing we can do for them. Let's focus on survival for now.'

'Jack we have to stop them.'

'And how do you propose the two of us do that? We're outnumbered 100:1.'

'… So we can only sit back and wait until every Dark Type and everyone who supports them is dead?'

'Elise, maybe you didn't notice, but everyone is somewhat… disorganized right now. We need to wait until everyone regroups and gets some form of resistance set up. After that we find them and help them fight back. I only hope there will be Pokemon left to FORM a resistance.'


	27. The Resistance

4 years passed… hardly anyone lived without fear. Everything was closely monitored by the "Purifiers" as the Granbull called them. Any hint that you felt sympathy for the Dark Types and you were subject to a thorough audit of your actions, and a several hour dressing down from Elite Officers.

The news were to report everything related to the extermination of Dark Types as positive.

The most recent figures predicted that the Dark Type population had dropped by a horrific 97-99.6%.

Jack and Elise stayed in that cave the whole time. People rarely found it, but when they did, whoever discovered it would be questioned thoroughly. If Jack felt things needed closer inspection, he would invade their mind and find the truth out for himself. He may not have retained his Psychic Typing, but he still had a few of his abilities.

If whoever it was was determined to be a Sympathizer, Jack and Elise allowed them to leave.

However, if they supported or believed the persecution was good, they were killed on the spot. No risks could be taken.

Their most recent "guest" was a Primeape who brought them news as the Sypathizers had spread the word amungst other Sympathizers that a Darkling, which were thought to have been wiped out, lived in that forest.

His news was that The Resistance would willingly allow them in. He told them the key to getting in.

(A hotel in the village where The Federation used to reside…)

A Lucario is currently sweeping the floors, when a cloaked and hooded figure walks in. It was rather cold out at this time of the year, so this was not rare, but it still caught his eye.

'May I help you?'

'Are you the manager?'

'I am.'

'Why don't we sit down and talk. I want to talk business with you.'

'Why don't we converse over a game of Strategist?'

'Sounds good to me.'

'You can use some of my pieces.'

'That's ok, I brought my own set.'

Strategist was a very simple, but skill based game. The board separated in two pieces, and the players would set up their side as they saw fit. Each circular piece represented a different Type. The objective was to eliminate all enemy pieces before they did.

Jack loudly placed down a piece.

The Lucario looked over and saw what Jack had played.

'… That piece is illegal.'

'No one enforces that law.'

'… this is true.'

Jack had placed a Dark Type piece in a very specific location.

The pair continued placing pieces until they both confirmed they were ready.

Neither of their layouts made any sense.

Until the table was put together.

It formed the symbol for Dark Types. (It can be found in either Gates of Infinity or Super Mystery Dungeon)

'It is good to see another one who isn't blinded by panic or injustice.'

'It is also good to see a friend.'

'Reclaim your pieces. I will show you the HQ.'

'Is he the real deal Jack?'

A Serperior slithers in.

'He is. He can help us.'

They cleared the board and walked to the top of the hotel, a staggering 30 stories up.

'All these tanks you see here are full of water, they are the hotel's plumbing source. All but one. It too is full of water, but it has a hidden secret.

The Lucario opens the top of one of the water tanks and gives instructions.

'Swim down to the bottom of this tank, at the bottom is a hatch, knock on it 3 times, 4 times, and then 1 time.'

'Got it.'

Jack and Elise dive in as the Lucario shuts the hatch at the top, enclosing them in darkness.

Jack swims down and finds the hatch by feeling around.

Knockknockknock… knockknockknockknock… knock.

Within 3 seconds, the hatch opens and somehow, the water doesn't rush out.

Jack and Elise swim through.

At the bottom they see a Ludicolo manipulating the water so it doesn't pour out.

A Honchcrow is there too.

'Welcome to The Resistance. What are your names?'

'I'm Jack. This is Elise.'

'Well Jack, what are you under that hood? A Dark Type, or a Sympathizer?'

'Neither. I'm a Darkling.'

Jack lowers the hood to reveal his face and discolored fur.

'Surprising. I thought they had been destroyed. Good to know one of them is still alive.'

'So this place hold the majority of the remaining Dark Types?'

'It is unfortunate, but you are correct Elise.'

'How many of you are there?'

'Less than 100.'

Elise is shocked. The most recent census before everything happened stated around 10,000 Dark Types existed around the globe.

'This Granbull is nothing if not thorough.'

'Do you know where he is?'

'No, but if he knew of this place he would lead the assault directly.'

'How long has this place been here?'

'Around 2 years. Enough talk. We should get you guys dried off and warmed up.'

The Ludicolo pulls the water off their bodies and the Honchcrow leads them further into the… bunker was the best way Jack could describe it.

As they come up to an area populated with Dark Types, Elise's heart sinks.

Many of them are crying, some are shivering in a corner from terror and sorrow, all of them look unhappy.

'Sad isn't it?'

The Honchcrow noticed they had stared for a while.

'What's with them?'

'Jack, more than 99% of all Dark Types are dead. Almost all of these Pokemon lost several family members. Many of them are orphans who were just children when their parents were murdered. Others are simply scared. They don't know how long they'll have to be in here, or if they'll ever be safe. We do the best we can, but most of the time our best isn't enough.'

'Mama!?'

Their eyes are drawn to the noise. A young Sneasel, no more than 18 months old, is shaking his mother, who isn't waking up. The mother was very pale, and underweight.

'Mama! Please wake up!'

'Is she ok?'

'Im afraid not Elise. She's been sick for a long time, but we didn't have the medical supplies we needed to help her. She hasn't eaten for days.'

'HELP! MOMA WON'T GET UP!'

A Simipour comes over and checks her.

'I'm sorry kid, she's gone.'

'… b-but… sh-she's gonna come back… right?'

'No. I'm afraid she's dead.'

He looked back at a Simisage and a Simisear and waved them over.

'She's dead. We should remove the body.'

The other two picked up the Weavile's corpse and took it away.

'NO! PLEASE COME BACK! MAMA!'

Honchcrow sighed.

'This isn't the first time something like this has happened. This happens every month or so.'

'It can't be… stuff like this doesn't happen in the real world. I'm just dreaming… I have to be.'

'Elise, life is cruel, and right now this is a dark time in the world. So life is especially cruel. These are the cards that kid was dealt. He has to come to terms with that. The question is, will he fold, or raise? I suppose the same can be asked of all of us. We must do something, before we are all dead.'


	28. A Nightmare

It had been a week since Jack and Elise joined The Resistance, and in that rather short space of time, they noticed that some of the members were a bit… off.

On one of the days, the Lucario came in.

'Just letting you know I'll be out getting food and supplies so I'll be unavailable for a bit.'

'Carefully please, remember… they're watching your every move.'

A Mightyena had spoken up. He had this grin on his face that would give someone trust issues.

'*Sighs* Yeah yeah, and if I raise suspicion or get this place discovered, hundreds of "Purifiers" will shut this place down and everyone in here will be executed. We've all heard this nightmare before.'

'Well tis indeed a nightmare. One slip up and we are all dead.'

That sent a chill up everyone's spines, but it wasn't the only thing to do so.

Winter had arrived, and it was a brutal one.

Already the water tanks had to rely on their heaters.

All but one.

The one that lead to HQ had its heaters and coolers removed. The water above was frozen solid, and cold air sinks.

Everyone, including Jack, was cold.

Since the place didn't have a ventilation shaft, and the only way air could come in was through a disabled AC unit, there would be nowhere for the smoke to go out and they'd all suffocate.

The only thing they could do, was have Jack light his wand on fire, which didn't produce smoke, gather around that small source of heat, and try to stay somewhat warm under the blankets they had.

Elise also decided to use one of the hotel rooms to hibernate in so she didn't freeze to death while she was in the big sleep. She had left not long before the water froze.

Currently, everyone was gathered around that small twig Jack held, each one vying for a place closer to the heat.

It had been like this for 3 hours, and then something horrible happened.

Thump.

Everyone turned to the source of the noise, only to find that an Umbreon had just passed out.

Immediately he was moved right next to the fire, but he wasn't breathing.

The 3 medical personnel came over to examine him.

They quickly discovered it was horribly cold inside his body.

Umberon is a normal Dark Type, it has a normal body temperature, unlike Dark/Ice Types like Sneasel and Weavile.

However, this Umbreon's body temperature had dropped to 81 degrees.

They quickly shaved one of his paws to find another grisly sight.

The fur of an Umbreon is black and yellow, but the skin underneath is normally a very light brown. NORMALLY.

The skin on this Umbreon's paw was black, and it was ice cold to the touch.

Frostbite.

The paw was dead, and should have been removed long ago, but the canine had never brought it up.

They came to the conclusion he had died of hypothermia and frostbite.

When the word that he had died reached everyone's ears, they began to salivate.

Food was scarce.

They hadn't eaten in a long time.

Before anyone could move the body, no less than a dozen Pokemon jumped on the body and started eating it.

The ones who didn't looked on in shock, horror, and envy.

After the body had been reduced to fur and bones, and the Pokemon realized what they just did, some of them ran to a corner and threw up. Others however, licked their lips. Seemingly hungry for more.

Jack however, narrowed his eyes. He would have to watch his back. He knew the Pokemon before him felt satisfied.

They did want more, and Jack knew it.

Over the course of the next week, things only became more gruesome.

The Pokemon that felt satisfaction from consuming the flesh of another Pokemon began to gaze at others with hungry eyes.

Everytime someone died those same Pokemon ate them, and it was disturbing, but with so few Dark Types left, they weren't expendable.

Most of the deaths were of Sympathizers since they realized that the Dark Types as a Typing, needed every life possible.

That didn't make their deaths any less tragic.

Just when they thought they were all gonna die, Jack realized something that was so simple he wasn't surprised no one thought of it.

He could use his fire to melt the ice and get the Lucario so he could give them more supplies.

It was so simple.

Jack melted the ice and the Seismitoad held the now liquid water in place as Jack swam out to find the Lucario.

'Finally someone got out of there. I was beginning to think you all had perished.'

'Some of us have. We need food, water, and medical supplies down there right now.'

After they got the supplies to the others, Lucario introduced a new Sympathizer. An Emboar.

He also delivered some, controversial news.

'We now know where this Granbull is hiding. He's in the Everred Mountains.'

'That wouldn't happen to be near the Everred Volcanoes right?'

'They are one in the same.'

'Well that's just fantastic. Couldn't it have been a quiet meadow, or a peaceful forest, or just any place that doesn't EXPLODE everyday?'

'Look, the bottom line is, most of his soldiers are out hunting right now. His fortress is relatively vulnerable right now.'

'You want us to go TO the person who's trying to exterminate us?'

'That's insane!'

'It's suicide!'

'SHUT IT!'

Jack's loud voice made them quiet down.

'Look, do you want to spend the rest of your lives here? Do you want to die in this place? What I'm trying to say is, if we don't hit this guy NOW with everything we've got, we're gonna die and die and die until there is NO ONE LEFT!'

'Even so, taking this guy out with what we have… it's impossible. It's asking us to throw our lives away.'

'Let me ask you this. What use is your life if you cower in here for the next century?'

There was a silence.

Eventually the Emboar broke it.

'You don't have to fight with your bare hands. This Lucario here informed me of the situation, and since I'm a blacksmith, I decided to try something. I have armor and weapons for most of you.'

'Armor and weapons? That's cowardice! Disgraceful! It takes away from the glory of combat!'

Jack speaks up again. Always the rational one.

'You may be right, but we don't exactly have the numbers to afford not using them.'

'Grrr.'

Another silence passed.

'I'll go.'

All eyes turned to the voice. It was the young Sneasel who's mother died the day Jack arrived.

'I had to watch my mom wither away before me. I'm not gonna die the same way.'

'You realize the odds are you won't come back?'

'What am I to do here? I'd rather take a few of the enemy with me to the grave!'

'Will no one else step up?'

Everyone looked at each other before they all stepped forwards to show their support.

'I still think it's suicide, but I would like to take a few with me.'

'I will personally lead you into battle.'

'You should get a good night's rest for now. I'll take you to my armory and you can grab your gear tomorrow, then we can launch the attack.'

They all went to bed after talking to each other for a bit.

Jack reflected on the day ahead of him.

"An icy dread just crept through my guts, and at this moment, I feel a strange mixture of horror, and relief. My worst fears have been realized, but I know now that I have finally reached the end of my journey. … One way or another, the nightmare will soon be over."


	29. The Final Preparations

Everyone was getting ready, they had moved under the cover of night of the the course of weeks to get to the base of the Everred Mountains in secret. Finally everyone had arrived, including Elise, who was woken early because they needed every last body available. She didn't have to fight hibernation here. The endless fire and lava made sure of that.

Everyone was getting into whatever armor they had. It ranged from layers of overlapping hardened steel, to soft leather. Anyone who could hold a weapon did.

As the one who was supposedly fated to save the world, Jack was given one of the steel sets of armor.

He didn't want to take a weapon though, he believed his wand would be enough, he wanted someone else to take a weapon.

However, the Emboar insisted, and forcefully gave Jack a medium length one handed sword. 'Just in case.'

Finally everyone said they were ready. The Lucario, dressed in chain mail but carrying no weapon, laid down a map of the mountains.

'So what are we up against?'

'If my source is correct, the place is a foretress. Only one way in or out. That spot is heavily guarded by Bug Types, Jack will lead the assault on that part due to his Fire Typing. Just after that is a set of twisting and turning caverns, our forces will have to split up or we may lose whatever surprise we manage to achieve. My source was unable to find any guards in this area, but I want everyone to be ready if they were wrong. Whichever way leads to the inner chambers, that group will have to battle their way through Fighting Types and an Elite Guard of Fairy Types before they reach the Throne Room. This is where our target is. Find him, and kill him. Understood?'

Everyone nods.

*Flap flap flap*

A Pelipper flies overhead and drops a letter.

The Lucario grabs it and reads it.

'No time for questions. My source says that the search party will be returning here in less than 2 hours. We have to make our move now. Good luck everyone, I have a feeling this may be our last encounter.'

Everyone turned to their closest friends or family and said their, hopefully not final goodbyes.

'Alright Jack, lead us to victory.'

Jack calmly faced the volcanoes.

'No turning back now. Let's kill this son of a bitch.'

With that, Jack took off running, a swarm of over 100 Dark Types and Sympathizers following just behind him.

"This is it Jack, your final mission. Once you do this, your job here will be complete."


	30. Fortress Fracas

Jack was leading the assault. His last responsibility to this world. It was time to end it.

He saw the entrance and the guards that, well, guarded it.

Dozens of different Bug Types, all standing perfectly still. If he didn't know, he'd have said they were statues.

He help up his paw in a gesture that meant stop.

He looked back and told the group that he would handle this.

He calmly stepped in the view of their enemy, but his armor kept his color a secret, they had no idea he was a Dark Type.

'HALT! State your name and your business!'

Jack simply reached for his right hip.

Since his armor kept him from reaching into his robe for his wand, he had 2 weapon sheaths, one on each hip. The right held his wand, the other his sword.

He grabbed his wand.

'Drop your weapon!'

Jack simply pointed it and unleashed a Flamethrower. He swept the wand from right to left to coat all the guards in fire.

He didn't know how long he kept that fire going, but when he stopped, all the guards were flame broiled. Most of them were dead or dying. This wasn't like in a Dungeon where you fight to make your enemy faint. This was a fight to the death, and they all knew it.

Jack held up his paw and waved forwards twice. A sign to move forwards.

The Pokémon behind didn't hesitate.

They had overcome the first obstacle, but now the labyrinth lay before them. 5 entrances, 5 places you could end up.

Jack split them up. He took the almost exactly 100 Pokémon and divided them up into 5 groups of 20. He lead group 1, Elise lead group 2, the Lucario lead group 3, the brave young Sneasel was leading group 4, and the Honchcrow lead group 5.

Whoever reached the inner chambers was to find and kill the Granbull by any means necessary.

Jack held his wand at the ready as he lead his group through the maze-like corridors.

He had no idea what was waiting for him. Death could be inches away, just around the next bend, and he wouldn't know it until he was already dead.

He paused.

He swore he heard movement.

He held up his paw to signal them to stop again.

He peered around the corner and saw an Aegislash in sword form. It was staring right at him.

He thrust his wand forwards to burn it with a Flamethrower, but the Aegislash cut his wand in half.

The Flamethrower still came out, but it burned the now simple stick.

The Aegislash went down.

Jack paused as he watched his wand burn to ashes.

"Thanks for the sword Emboar."

He drew his sword, it felt odd holding it as opposed to his wand, but he had no choice.

They continued through the maze for what felt like an eternity, they quickly took care of the odd guard walking around, and finally saw the exit. It was indeed the inner chambers of the fortress.

Waiting for them were 10 Fighting Types and 10 Fairy Types.

Jack hesitated for just an instant, before he rushed forwards, his group following close behind.

The first one to greet him was a Gardevoir.

He was hit by a Moonblast but it simply glanced off his armor.

The Gardevoir was stunned for just a second, but it was all Jack needed to swipe his sword at it.

The sword made a horribly deep gash, Jack figured that since the blade was made of steel, it became a Steel Type move, and Fairy Types HATE, Steel.

Both forces met and an all out brawl ensued.

Jack's group had better equipment, everyone had at least SOME armor, and a few had weapons, but they were all rather weak from so long cramped up under a water tank.

Jack was trying to slash a Cleffable when he was knocked over from behind.

A Blaziken had hit him with a Hi-Jump Kick. The powerful move punched right through Jack's armor and did a not insignificant amount of damage.

A Greninja quickly blasted the Blaziken with a Hydro Pump and helped Jack to his feet.

'Your armor is shredded!'

There was a huge hole on the back of his armor, and once armor has been pierced, it no longer offers much protection.

Jack got up and removed the armor as quick as he could while the Greninja defended him.

'Ok I'm good!'

'Excellent. I think we might be able to-'

BAM!

The Greninja had just been Sucker Punched by a Machamp. He was out cold, perhaps dead.

'YOU BASTARD!'

Jack lunged FORWARDS and stabbed the Machamp in the back, he then lifted the sword upwards to tear the wound.

When he felt the Fighting Type go limp he removed the sword.

As all this happened, the fight had ended. Jack's group was victorious, but only just.

2 others remained besides Jack.

A Houndoom with leather armor, and a Tyranitar who wore no armor due to the fact his skin was made of rocks.

In front of then was a giant double door that was so polished and decorated it HAD to lead to the leader.

Jack turns to his remaining allies.

'Both of you, no matter what happens remember this, you were good allies. Everyone of you were good Pokémon.'

They merely nodded in affirmation. Nothing could break their intense focus.

Jack approached the massive door and blew it off its hinges with a Dark Pulse.


	31. Burn in Hell

When Jack and his remaining allies entered the room, they were greeted by an Infernape and a Sylveon. Both of whom were charging up attacks.

'Wait, hold your fire. I wanna talk to them.'

There he was, the Granbull who started this whole thing.

'YOU FUCKING PRICK!'

'Hi to you too Jack. Let's chat.'

'I have nothing to say to you.'

'Are you sure? You don't have any questions? I'm a reasonable person. I want you to understand my point of view. Maybe you'll realize why I'm doing this.'

'Actually I do have some questions. You said you would exterminate Dark Types, yet you created Darklings. Why?'

'It was an effort to reinforce the idea that Dark Types, natural or not, are not good people.'

'That's actually pretty smart… who was the person who sold me the alcohol and drugs?'

'That was the Zoroark.'

'Really? The eyes didn't match.'

'He wasn't a Zororark when he spoke to you. He disguised himself to keep his identity safe. Not many Pokémon have sapphire blue eyes.'

'Makes sense. On that subject, why did you have the Zoroark go after me of all people?'

'Because he said he witnessed an anomaly nearby where he was stationed. When he went to investigate he saw you. The only reason for an anomaly like that is if a human had just been transported to this world, and he knew what my plan was, to rid the world of Dark Types, even if he didn't know he was gonna die too. He figured out correctly that you would try to stop me, so he decided to try and prevent you from preforming at full ability. Obviously he failed.'

'Well that's all my questions, now I'm gonna fucking gut you like a fish!'

'Hmph. I don't think so. I figured you cowards would use weapons, and I didn't feel like giving myself a handicap when fighting you.'

The Granbull grabs a sword and points it at Jack.

'Kill them.'

The Infernape and Sylveon charge them.

The Infernape attacks the Tyrannitar with a Close Combat, the X4 effective move kills it outright.

The Sylveon hits the Houndoom with a Moonblast, while the move didn't kill the Houndoom, it badly hurt it.

The Houndoom retaliates by attacking the Sylveon with an Inferno, the high damage move also cripples the Sylveon.

Jack attacks the Infernape with his blade and due to its lowered Defense, he was able to kill it with a single stab to the chest.

The Sylveon quickly launches another Moonblast and finishes off the Houndoom, before being decapitated by an overhead swing from Jack's sword.

'Just you and me Jack. I couldn't imagine a more perfect ending.'

'I could. An ending where you never existed, where none of this pointless shit had to happen.'

'Everything has a point, you sometimes just have to look deeper.'

'YOU WILL NOT SURVIVE THIS DAY!'

'I take no joy in slaughtering Pokémon as passionate about life as you, but you have forced my hand.'

They charged each other.

CLANG!

Their blades met with such force that sparks flew off.

They pushed against their opposite number's sword with all their strength, but it was a stalemate, neither sword was moving.

'*Grunts* You know Jack, hrn, it's not too late to join me. I admire you. Be smart about this.'

'If you're offering me this, I must scare you. You're just trying to stack the deck.'

'I fear no one.'

'Time to change that.'

Jack released pressure on his blade and ducked, the sudden momentum threw off the balance of his foe.

Jack swung at him and managed to land a grazing blow as he was still recovering. However he only cut his left cheek.

'Nice move.'

'Flattery will earn you no mercy.'

The Granbull swung his sword at Jack who blacked it and redirected it by angling his blade.

Jack quickly lunged but the Granbull was surprisingly fast.

'Not bad, not bad at all.'

Jack widened his stance, increasing his balance.

The Granbull this time made a lunging attack, notoriously hard to parry, and Jack's widened stance slowed his dodge enough to where he was stabbed just below his ribs.

'Rookie mistake there buddy, I don't wanna win on stuff like that.'

'Don't worry, you won't win at all.'

The wound would've hurt, but Jack's body had so much adrenaline pumping through it, he never even felt it.

'We'll see.'

The Granbull then used a Moonblast, however, as the sphere began to move, he stabbed it with his sword and started an overhead strike.

Jack leapt for safety.

BANG!

The power of the strike caused the floor to collapse.

Both fighters fell, the lava tube below them rushing to greet them.

There was one spot, about 10 feet by 30 feet, that jutted out of the lava. Both of them headed towards it.

Ordinarily the fall would've killed them, but the heat from the lava, coupled with the new air passageway, created such an updraft, they were left more or less unscathed.

'THIS IS WHERE IT ENDS YOU BASTARD!'

By now they were done sizing each other up, testing each other, now they were ready to go for real.

For just one moment, they both were motionless.

A sign of respect between a pair of warriors.

Suddenly they both charged, and again the blades sparked from the impact, but this time they both instantly started another attack.

All you could hear was the sound of the flowing lava, and the clang of steel on steel.

The duo were so focused on the fight, they didn't notice that the lava was actually rising.

The volcano was waking up.

Soon enough, Jack made a mistake, he mistimed his step, and the result was a direct hit to his gut.

He looked down.

The sword, still held by his foe, was sticking out of his stomach, and he felt that it had come out the other side.

Jack was in serious pain, but he had to react now.

He grabbed the Granbull with his free hand, held him against his own body, and jammed his bade into his back.

Both wounds were grave, but Jack had hit a more vital organ.

The heart.

The Granbull wouldn't last much longer, and he knew it.

'You… beat me. You're not who I thought you were.'

'Yes, I am.'

'Yes, you are, but that's over now, as is the world I could've loved. You've won. Cherish it.'

As the Granbull fell backwards Jack kicked him to make sure he went over the edge.

Jack was rewarded with a sound similar to a splash.

Jack removed the sword from his gut and a lot of blood came out.

'AAAAH AGH! RRRRRRRRRNG!'

Jack dropped the sword and fell to his knees.

He looked around.

No way out.


	32. Death Calls

Jack saw that there was no way out. He was doomed to die here.

'Jack!? … JACK!?'

It was Elise.

He was too weak to yell back, but he could still speak.

'Down here.'

Elise peered over the ledge where the fight began.

'There you are! Hang on!'

Elise lowered her long body as much as she could and then sent down one of her vines. If Jack stood up, he could reach it.

'Grab on Jack, I'll pull you out! … Come on Jack get up!'

'Elise… go… get out of here.'

'Not without you Jack!'

'Elise… there's no time to argue. Go.'

'YOU'RE MY FRIEND, I'M NOT LEAVING YOU!'

Jack didn't have a response.

'Please Jack get up.'

Nothing.

'You did it Jack. You did everything you were supposed to do.'

'And sometimes… it's just not enough. When death calls, we have no choice but to answer.'

Above him Elise starts tearing up.

'Jack…'

'Elise… thank you… I couldn't have done it… without you.'

'… Goodbye… Jack.'

Elise slithered away, eyes blurred by tears.

'So this is it. I die here, now, but the world's Dark Types get a tomorrow.'

Jack closes his eyes and faintly smiles. He can hear the lava sloshing around him, and seconds later, it engulfs him. He died instantly.


End file.
